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Volume: 118 No.100, APRIL 20, 2021

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‘DON’T GO THERE’

US puts Bahamas back on top level alert as cases rise

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net THE US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has told Americans to avoid travel to The Bahamas, citing a very high level of COVID-19 in the country.

Yesterday, the United States’ chief public health agency increased the country’s health notice from level three to level four.

The nation had remained at level three since late January, after previously being listed at level four by the CDC last year due to

SEE PAGE EIGHT

BTVI FACES ACTION ON DISMISSAL

virus infections.

“Travellers should avoid all travel to The Bahamas,” the CDC advisory read.

“Because of the current situation in The Bahamas, even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to The Bahamas.

“If you must travel to The Bahamas, get fully vaccinated before travel.

All travellers should wear a mask, stay six feet from others, avoid crowds and wash their hands.”

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Technical and Vocational Institute is being accused of wrongful dismissal after making good on its warning and firing an employee of the IT department, citing him for breach of an internal policy on open communication.

SEE PAGE THREE

SEE PAGE THREE

‘ASSAULT’ OFFICER RETIRES

FIVE SCHOOLS FOUND TO HAVE COVID VIRUS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson yesterday expressed concern with the number of suspected COVID-19 cases being recorded in public schools across New Providence, claiming that most of the cases are students, some “as young as five-years-old”.

The union president raised alarm about the issue in a voice note sent to the media yesterday, where she revealed that several schools in the capital

have been plagued with COVID-19 infections. Mrs Wilson initially identified six schools with COVID cases, however the Ministry of Education later clarified that one school listed — TG Glover Primary School — does not have a confirmed case.

This comes after the Ministry of Education issued a notice on social media yesterday, advising parents of the closure of the CR Walker High School, Carlton Francis Primary School and CV Bethel High School at noon.

SEE PAGE FOUR

THE PATH TO GIVING WOMEN A FAIRER DEAL

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter Ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE FAKER? LADERIA Russell outside court yesterday. She denied a number of charges - and is accused of 160 charges in total relating to forged documents in connection with people attempting to travel using fake COVID-19 test results. See page seven for the full story.

Photo: Racardo Thomas

NEED ONE... AND 12 COME ALONG

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

JITNEY drivers on the number 15 route yesterday trialled a new system to see if it produces a better share of passenger fares said to still be down 70 percent compared to pre-COVID levels.

Harrison Moxey, the United Public Transportation Company’s president, told Tribune Business

JITNEYS near Super Value in Winton yesterday. the rest of the industry is watching with interest the results of this week’s experiment that saw drivers line their vehicles up on the

field outside Super Value’s Winton store from early morning.

He explained that the idea was for jitneys to depart every ten minutes on the route, which takes passengers the length of Prince Charles Drive to the Mall at Marathon and back, in a bid to ensure all drivers picked up at least some fares while avoiding the common practice of racing each other between stops.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

THE attorney representing one of the victims of an alleged police brutality incident captured on audio fears the Royal Bahamas Police Force will not bring disciplinary action against the accused senior officer involved in the matter.

It has been reported by a local media outlet that the assistant superintendent in question has retired from the force with full pension, with effect from March 31 this year.

SEE PAGE FIVE

NO POMP AS FAMILY & NATION SAY FAREWELL

SEE PAGE NINE

Man killed in stabbing

PAGE 2, Tuesday, April 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

BLOOD on the pavement at the scene of the stabbing.

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net POLICE are investigating the circumstances surrounding a stabbing incident that left one man dead on Collins Avenue early yesterday morning.

Head of the Criminal Investigations Department, Chief Superintendent Shanta Knowles said shortly before 4am, police were called to Collins Avenue and Sixth Terrace where they discovered an unresponsive man lying on the side of the street.

Emergency Medical Services personnel were called to the scene and examined the man, who was later pronounced dead.

“The only information we have is that the male was found with a stab wound to his body,” Chief Supt Knowles said.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

“We don’t have an identity on him. We don’t have an identification and so we are hoping that someone in the community can tell us if they had seen anything so we can identify his next of kin. But, at this time, we don’t have an identification on him.”

She added: “Nothing of interest was found on him.

We have no witnesses at this time and, of course, we are appealing to the public to anyone who may have seen what happened.”

Chief Supt Knowles said the victim appeared to be in his late 30s or early 40s.

“We can tell you that it’s an adult man,” she told this newspaper. “I would say late 30s maybe early 40s but again we are uncertain.”

The victim’s death has pushed the nation’s murder count to 40 for the year, according to this newspaper’s records.

It also comes days after six men were killed during a brazen shooting at the Jerome Avenue and Chesapeake Road intersection last Thursday.

The car in which the men were shot was riddled with bullets after they were approached by four gunmen who were said to be dressed all in black and armed with high powered weapons and handguns.

A woman and two-yearold girl were also critically injured in the gun attack, but are now said to be in stable condition.

Police are appealing to members of the public who may have information that can assist with the latest homicides to contact the Criminal Investigations Department at 502-9991/2, Crime Stoppers at 328TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.

INVESTIGATORS RETURN TO CRASH SCENE

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

INVESTIGATORS will return to Bimini today to continue their probe into a plane crash that killed one of two men on board.

Air Accident Investigation Authority chief investigator, Captain Delvin Major said a team is being sent to the island today to assist with the matter after their efforts were disrupted because of the fuel in the water.

“We sent a team down on Saturday,” Captain Major said.

“We just were able to do a limited preliminary investigation because there was still a lot of fuel in the water so it was a danger to our investigators and they could not fully get involved like we would need to, but (today) we will head back to Bimini to continue our investigations because the conditions would’ve been more favourable.

“We’re also moving the aircraft where it’s at now and it’s being taken to the United States where we

will be meeting with the individuals from the manufacturer who would be assisting us (in our investigations). We’re leaving next week.”

He also said initial investigations conducted

by AAIA found that pilots of the small plane that crash landed in waters in South Bimini last Friday had received clearance to fly from the island at night.

He confirmed the matter when asked to respond to claims from a concerned citizen that the flight did not get the proper authorisation to depart from Bimini and also, that night flying on the island is prohibited.

“Well, so far our investigations have determined that the flight was properly notified to the authorities and so, we did find that the document that there was a flight plan and approval to do that,” Capt Major said.

“The airport in Bimini does have proper lighting and I don’t know where those claims come from... but as far as this flight is concerned, the flight did

have proper authorisation to fly into and out of Bimini at night and the airport was staffed with the appropriate amount of people to ensure that the flight can get in and get out as required.”

According to reports, a Piper Navajo PA-31 aircraft, registered in the United States, was heading to Florida with two American men onboard when they crashed in waters in South Bimini shortly after take-off.

Family and friends have identified the victims as 59-year-old Andre Wade and 20-year-old Kyle Wade, father and son. The son died in the incident.

According to initial enquiries, the aircraft had left Tamami Airport, Florida on Friday with four passengers.

They arrived at the South Bimini International Airport shortly before 9am. All four passengers disembarked.

Later that day, shortly after 9pm, the two passengers took off from the South Bimini International Airport before the plane crashed.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 20, 2021, PAGE 3

US puts Bahamas back on top level alert as cases rise from page one According to international media reports, the US State Department said yesterday it planned to boost its “Do Not Travel” guidance to about 80 percent of countries worldwide, citing “unprecedented risk to travellers” from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The State Department already listed 34 out of about 200 countries as “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” including places like Chad, Kosovo, Kenya, Brazil, Argentina, Haiti, Mozambique, Russia and Tanzania. Getting to 80 percent would imply adding nearly 130 countries, according to reports.

The Bahamas currently has a Level 3: Reconsider Travel advisory from the US State Dept.

Over the last several days, there have been 158 new cases, according to information released by the Ministry of Health, lending to concerns by officials that a third COVID-19 wave is underway.

There were 55 new COVID-19 cases in the country, including nine in Abaco, on Sunday, April 18. Officials said Abaco’s number reflected a testing exercise on April 1 at an Abaco based construction company.

A further breakdown of Sunday’s cases showed 21 in New Providence, 12 in Grand Bahama, one in Eleuthera, four in Andros and eight cases with locations pending.

On Saturday April 16

THE VACCINATION site at the Church of God of Prophecy. there were 40 new cases, on Friday, 62 cases were recorded and on Thursday 41 new cases recorded.

Additionally, there were 30 on Wednesday, 58 on Tuesday, 45 on Monday and 21 last Sunday for a total of 297 last week.

The week prior saw 189 infections.

With total COVID-19 cases nearing the 10,000 mark, the country’s top

infectious disease expert, Dr Nikkiah Forbes believes The Bahamas is now facing its third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Total COVID-19 cases now stand at 9,791.

Dr Forbes, a COVID19 task force member, said the nation could still get a handle on the situation if Bahamians continue to follow all of the health

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff measures among other things.

She also noted vaccinations, COVID-19 testing and isolation strategies will be key in helping to tackle this wave of the pandemic but said all measures will “have to be done in combination”.

She said: “The public health measures are very effective, but the key is for that to work is everybody

has to follow them…The other way that the COVID outbreak could be stopped is a full robust vaccination programme but that takes time and we have to get a very large proportion of the population immunised and that takes time so there’s two parts — prevention like the vaccine and public health measures — and then there’s control measures. “(This includes) having

public health platforms that identifies the cases early and early means it has to be done very early like within a day or two and put those cases in isolation and find the high-risk contact and put them in quarantine and do follow up testing and it can work, but all those things have to be done in combination.”

The country’s death toll is 194.

BTVI FACES ACTION ON DISMISSAL from page one

At the end of January, a flyer was circulated on social media indicating there was a theft ring at BTVI, that an executive manager was involved and that two people were fired because of it. At that time, The Tribune reached out to BTVI’s chairman, Kevin Basden, who admitted there was an ongoing investigation into malfeasance at the tertiary institution.

BTVI subsequently hired ICS Bahamas to conduct the investigation. A probe commenced to include identifying the person who generated the flyer. The employee of the IT department was requested to attend two meetings to be interviewed by the investigator. That employee was terminated in a document dated March 31, delivered to him over the past weekend.

A BTVI source said: “Well I hope they are prepared for a wrongful dismissal lawsuit. The burden of proof was placed upon

BTVI and their investigator and they never showed the young man any proof.

They just fired him saying they ‘believe’ he is the one who sent out the flyer. They never had a case because there was no evidence. It was not shown. They didn’t give this man who has children severance pay.

“We are in the middle of a pandemic and you fire a man with no proof? That is nonsense. We are sure that at the end of the day, the courts will exonerate our colleague.”

Excerpts of the termination letter to the employee noted that BTVI believed him responsible for the creation of flyers “Human Resources Manager Mess at BTVI” and “Policy Prejudice BTVI”.

The letter also noted: “We honestly and reasonably believe that your actions constitute a major breach ie, gross misconduct and/ or acting in a manner contrary to the fundamental interest of the Institution.

Further, you owe a duty of care to the organisation. As a result of your actions, you

MAN ACCUSED OF ATTACK ON POLICE OFFICER

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A 34-YEAR-OLD man was charged with assaulting a police officer, causing damage, making death threats, resisting arrest and using obscene language.

Theo Astwood, 36, of Hillary Avenue, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson yesterday. He was represented by Wendell Smith.

It is alleged that on April 16, the accused unlawfully assaulted Police Officer 3922 Duford with a motor vehicle.

On the same date and place, Astwood is said to have intentionally caused material damage to a

Samsung cellular phone, a watch, police cyclist boot, and Oakley sunglasses, the property of Officer Duford, valued at $1,035.95.

Astwood is also accused of threatening the officer with death, putting him in fear of his life.

Astwood was also charged with resisting arrest and using obscene language. On the same date and place, the accused is accused of resisting arrest

by Officer Duford while in the execution of his duties, and used obscene language to the annoyance of the officer.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges and elected summary trial. He was granted $2,000 signed bail and the matters were adjourned to June 21.

are hereby summarily dismissed from BTVI.” The letter noted that the employee’s breach was on three policies – personal use of BTVI’s property, open communication and distribution of printed material.

Contacted by The Tribune for comment yesterday, Mr Basden said the matter is not one for the press.

“We wouldn’t discuss our personnel matters of this nature publicly,” Mr Basden said. “I can confirm that action has been taken and there is strong evidence as a result of an investigation, but we are not going

to get into play by play of what was said or not said.

We are not going to deal with that in the press, but we stand by our position in the action that was taken.”

The Tribune obtained the audio files of the second of the said meetings where the accused employee’s attorney, Genika Basden, could be heard continually asking the investigator for proof of his claims which he said he had.

Several people were at the meeting, including the investigator, BTVI officials and attorneys for the accused - Ms Basden and

Bjorn Ferguson.

In the meeting, Ms Basden told the investigator he had to show proof of the allegations so her client could defend himself.

“You can tell me you have a video with me shooting somebody, but you have to show that video with me shooting somebody,” she said.

“You cannot make an allegation without proof.

You say you are using evidence so you need to provide us with this evidence so he can see it and defend himself against this evidence. That is the

process of natural justice.

That is due process.”

The investigator insisted he had proof but declined to show it as he said he was still investigating the matter.

“I can show him what I have now, but I cannot give him anything because the investigation is still in progress,” the investigator responded. “No. I will withhold that.”

According to The Tribune’s source the accused employee and his legal team were never shown the proof that the investigator said he had.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, April 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Five schools found to have COVID virus from page one Yesterday, Education Minister Jeff Lloyd told reporters that some schools had recently been exposed to COVID. “I am advised this morning that there were three cases over the last four or five days at individual schools. I am getting the report on those and as soon as I do, I will share with you,” he said.

However, according to Mrs Wilson, the latest facilities to be hit from the respiratory virus are L W Young Junior High School, C R Walker Senior High School, H O Nash Jr High School, Garvin Tynes Primary High School and Carlton Francis Primary School.

The BUT head also claimed that most of the positive cases at the respective institutions were students, with some as young as five-years-old testing positive for the virus.

She also urged teachers to protect themselves, noting that their safety “comes first.”

“As COVID cases continue to rise in the country and specifically, New Providence, the Bahamas Union of Teachers note that there are positive cases at the following schools: L W Young Junior High, C R Walker Senior High, H O Nash Jr High, Garvin Tynes Primary, T G Glover Primary and Carlton Francis Primary. We note that the majority of the cases are students as young as five-years-old.”

In the case of T G Glover, the Ministry of Education said there was not

EDUCATION Minister Jeffrey Lloyd yesterday.

Photo: Racardo Thomas a confirmed case there, explaining that “last week we had miscommunication, however after consultation with the relevant persons, the student was not confirmed as a positive case.”

Yesterday, Mrs Wilson also raised concern over the fact that education officials are allegedly not being “forthcoming” with the information about the suspected or confirmed COVID cases.

She said teachers deserve to be informed in a timely manner and need be assured that all of the proper health protocols are being followed in such events.

“What is concerning for us, though, is that some principals and the Ministry of Education officials are not forthcoming about the information about the cases and/or they are delayed in informing the teachers, parents and the union of suspected cases or confirmed cases,” she said in a statement.

“The BUT demands that

the teachers be informed in a timely manner and that the COVID-19 team address teachers and staff members, that contact tracing be done and testing of teachers who are contacts of persons who would’ve tested positive and that quarantine time be given and that the schools be cleaned, disinfected and sanitised.

“The alleged withholding of information by the Ministry of Education officials is unacceptable. This is a matter of urgency and health and the Ministry of Education is obligated to follow the protocols and inform the various stakeholders,” Mrs Wilson added.

For his part, Mr Lloyd insisted that each school have a COVID-19 response plan in place should a case be identified there.

“They have protocols in place that if you are tested positive that there is a response that must happen,” the education minister stressed. “First of all, obviously you must be quarantined and there must be a cleansing of the environment and all persons with whom you have come into contact must themselves be quarantined. This is the feature of contact tracing.”

Schools across the country closed last March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but were later reopened after the summer break last October.

However, schools in New Providence, Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma were teaching virtually until given the go ahead to begin phased face-to-face learning in February.

TOTAL CASES

TOTAL DEATHS

9,791 194

NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES SUNDAY 55 CASES NEW PROVIDENCE 21 GRAND BAHAMA 12 ABACO 9 ANDROS 4 ELEUTHERA 1 PENDING 8

TOTAL TESTS

82,548

HOSPITALISED

45

CASES IN ICU

4

RECOVERED

9,059

LLOYD: NO CONCERN ABOUT AN OUTBREAK IN SCHOOLS

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Minister Jeffrey Lloyd said he has “no concern at all” that an outbreak will occur at schools open for faceto-face learning despite a health official believing the country is experiencing a third wave.

Dr Nikkiah Forbes, director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme at the Ministry of Health, confirmed to The Tribune the climbing COVID-19 numbers and hospital cases show the country is now in the early stages of a third wave.

Mr Lloyd’s comments came yesterday when Bahamas Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson said there were positive cases at several public schools. It was claimed the majority of cases are

students, some as young as five years old.

While asked by reporters if there were any concerns of an outbreak occurring at schools with face-to-face learning, the minister answered: “No, I have no concern at all because we’re doing what the health officials have asked us to do and that is to maintain all of the protocols that we are required to maintain—social distance, wash your hands, wear your mask, and so on.

This is an issue of personal responsibility.”

He added: “Naturally, we want to ensure that as much as possible all of our citizens who are able to get their vaccine (do so), that at the same time we’ve got to do what we must particularly do and that is maintain your social distance, stay away from crowds, wash your hands frequently, and so on and so further. We are doing that. We’re very,

very serious about doing that in our school system, so I hope to God that there is no wave as it is.”

The minister announced last month that national examinations were scheduled to start on April 13, but indicated there is still a possibility for disruption by the hurricane season and even a resurgence of COVID-19.

Asked if a possible third wave would affect exam schedules, Mr Lloyd replied: “Any wave is going to have an impact and I’m sure that the health officials will guide us as to what we must do in terms of our (response).

“I don’t want to be putting out those negative kind of vibes out in the atmosphere about no wave. We are moving forward to place where we can get back to place of normal, as normal as it’s possible in this what you might call the post COVID environment.”

FNM DISMISSES PLP CAMPAIGN ‘RHETORIC’

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

self-enforced protocols when campaigning in order to help support a safe, sustainable reopening of the economy. The THE Free National FNM shares the Prime Movement has deemed Minister’s belief that we an opposition state- must prioritise health and ment on restricting safety for Bahamians, and campaigning because of work to save lives and the pandemic “politically livelihoods. driven rhetoric”.

“Sadly, the PLP has been Progressive Liberal Party more focused on scoring leader, Philip “Brave” political points in a panDavis released a statement demic rather than looking on Sunday stating his party out for Bahamians. While would restrict campaign- the FNM works to follow ing due to the third wave of the safety protocols, Philip COVID-19. Mr Davis said ‘Brave’ Davis has kept up he was concerned about the his steady stream of congrowing number of cases in tradictory pronouncements especially because Ministry that only serve to draw of Health stats showed ten attention to his stunning percent of the active cases lack of leadership.” have been hospitalised.

Mr Davis’ statement The FNM in a state- noted a planned meetment yesterday noted it has ing in the PLP to ratify always followed, “strict, candidates this week, howself-enforced COVID-19 ever, because of the third protocols” while campaign- wave, the meeting was ing. However, pictures on postponed. His statement social media have showed called on the Prime MinisFNM campaigners in recent ter to “show that his actions weeks, including Prime could match his rhetoric” Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, about the importance of out in large numbers and keeping Bahamians safe not practising social dis- and it accused the FNM tancing. They all appeared of increasing its campaign to have worn masks, activities even while asking however.

Bahamians to restrict their The FNM’s statement own gatherings. said: “From day one, the He also expressed belief FNM has followed strict, that removing uncertainty

about an election date could allow all political parties to create campaign plans that reduce risk to the COVID-19 virus.

The FNM statement continued its attack on Mr Davis accusing him of “fleeing” to the United States when he contracted the virus because he does not trust local doctors and nurses.

The statement read: “One week he is against restrictions. The next, he blames the government for not doing enough. He is so illogical that he says do more, while at the same time being against the public health measures via the emergency orders.

“Bahamians remember that Davis fled to the United States when he contracted the virus, showing no regard for Bahamian doctors and nurses. Yet, he wants to lead our country. Times of crisis call for courage and consistent leadership. Davis continues to show he lacks both.”

The FNM said the PLP likes “political sideshows” and it lauded the Minnis administration of being focused on saving lives while also sustaining a safe, responsible reopening of the economy to get people back to work.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 20, 2021, PAGE 5

Alarm over rise in ‘ASSAULT’ OFFICER attacks on police RETIRES

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Ashton Greenslade has expressed concern about the recent increase in assaults on police officers on Grand Bahama, particularly during routine traffic stops.

He stressed that the police take such matters seriously and warned that violators will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.

“I want to address members of the public who seek to break the law; I warn you that my officers will not be

complacent in the execution of their duties. Please be mindful that these officers are efficiently trained and will use necessary force to enforce the law,” he said.

The senior officer reported that there have been four incidents to date where police officers were assaulted by members of the public. He noted that two of the incidents involved traffic matters and one involved a shooting.

“It has been brought to my attention that there has been a recent increase in matters involving members of the public assaulting police officers while officers are attempting to

execute their duties,” he said at a press conference.

“Notwithstanding such attempts, I am pleased to report that all the individuals responsible for these offences in the four mentioned matters were arrested and placed before the courts.”

He said one incident involved a “routine traffic stop” which resulted in the officer sustaining injuries.

“I implore members of the public to not allow such trivial matters, such a traffic citation, to spiral into serious criminal matters. When cited, simply pay the fine or attend court to attest the citation,” he said.

Asked about body cams for police officers in Grand Bahama, ACP Greenslade told The Tribune that he could not give an exact date when they will arrive, but said, “it is coming to Grand Bahama eventually.”

“The body camera would assist so the world can see what is actually happening. But, I can tell you from where I sit we have persons who are combative and resist the police,” he said.

He also indicated that if police officers are abusive to the public, persons can lodge a complaint to the Police Complaints and Corruption Branch.

BISHOP HALL GIVES THE GIFTS ON HIS BIRTHDAY

BISHOP Simeon Hall, pastor emeritus of New Covenant Baptist Church, celebrated his 74th birthday over the past weekend with a giveback to the Woods Alley community off Market Street.

The area, also known as “Choke Neck Alley,” is where Bishop Hall grew up and learned the values of life, work and helping others. On Saturday April 17, Bishop Hall distributed 74 gift packages to the community.

Photos: Racardo Thomas

from page one

Commissioner of Police Rolle declined to confirm this yesterday saying he could not discuss disciplinary matters in the media as the case is sub judice.

Yesterday, attorney Craig Butler told The Tribune he had “no idea that this man was retiring and/or close to retiring”. Mr Butler further revealed he had not spoken to his client as yet, but was “almost certain” he is going to be upset as the matter is still unresolved.

“I do not think it’s a coincidence that his retirement comes so soon after this most recent allegation has been made against him,” Mr Butler said.

“I don’t think they’re doing any kind of disciplinary action against him. If they were doing him, why would they let him retire with full honours and all of his benefits? They don’t plan on pushing this any further. I believe, and this is my opinion, I believe that they think that the retirement of him would probably be sufficient to quell this, that he goes away - and they let me go away - with his full benefits and then they will come back and settle the matter with me.”

The attorney said if the “systemic issue of police brutality” is still there, getting rid of the officer alone is not going to cure it.

Commissioner Rolle confirmed last month the officer involved had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

In an audio of the alleged beating, the officer identifies himself and his rank.

“My name is. . .assistant superintendent of police. You hear me? Put your hands down. Put your hands down. Look at me,” the officer in question said as a loud slap is heard.

Mr Butler said he thinks that there were three officers in total involved in the incident, including the ASP in question, who was most senior.

The incident happened at a police station on February 28. Three men were charged with resisting arrest, disorderly behaviour, assaulting a police officer, and obscene language. Mr Butler said the charges have been “unfounded” and he wants them dismissed as well as compensation for injuries sustained.

“These young men do not need to have their record tarnish because (that officer) during his command allowed himself and other officers to get out of hand where they abused young boys and then looked to justify what they did by pinning pathetic charges and unfounded charges on them,” he alleged.

A foot in the chest, head hit against the wall, bruising, and marks on the body were the injuries of just one of the victims, according to the attorney.

Although the trio did not suffer any broken limbs, the lawyer said they sustained physical injuries, not any serious ones, but “a lot of mental abuse”.

“It wasn’t like anything was broken but you know it’s the trauma of the situation, the fact that we were being beaten by police, you know the fact that he had his head driven into the wall and the post-traumatic stress and from that point of view they were abused,” he alleged.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, April 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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Plenty of reasons to be concerned about virus IF Education Minister Jeff Lloyd truly has “no concern at all” over an outbreak taking place at schools despite a third wave of COVID-19 hitting the country, then we suggest he think again.

Yesterday saw a series of blows for The Bahamas in its fight against the pandemic. The latest update on new cases reported 55 new cases, 21 of them in New Providence. Day after day, we have seen high numbers recently, and infectious disease expert Dr Nikkiah Forbes has declared we are indeed in a third wave now.

Then came a voice note from Bahamas Union of Teachers president reporting that six schools in New Providence – later clarified to be five – have had COVID cases. The Ministry of Education itself issued a note on social media advising parents that CR Walker High School, Carlton Francis Primary School and CV Bethel High School were being closed at noon. Parents were left to scramble from their workplaces to pick up children and work out how to take care of them at the same time as worrying whether they had been exposed to one of the cases at the schools.

Then came the next blow, that the US has warned its citizens not to travel to The Bahamas due to the very high level of COVID-19 here.

So if Mr Lloyd isn’t worried about an outbreak in the schools, he should be. We all should be. Indeed, around the world we have seen that with the reopening of schools, the number of COVID-19 cases tends to go up. It’s hardly a surprise – we’ve long been told that to keep the disease from spreading we need to wear masks and keep our distance, and schools are not designed for that kind of distancing, while children might not be as disciplined at ensuring they wear their masks at all times.

If we’re not careful, schools could serve as super spreaders to the rest of the community, as children unwittingly carry the virus home to parents and relatives.

It seems we are determined to keep going as we are rather than revert to stricter measures or distance learning.

We can pretend the virus isn’t there, but that’s not going to stop the virus from quietly infecting more people.

Equally, political parties should not be going out and about campaigning.

Each is making noises about following safety protocols, but even in their own pictures, people are seen to be shaking hands and going out and about in large numbers. That’s just taking a risk with people’s health for an election that hasn’t even been called yet.

We can’t just wish a third wave away.

We have to do the same things that ensured numbers went down after previous waves – masking up, washing hands,

keeping our distance and only going out when we need to do so. Every contact gives the virus a chance to jump to a new person, and that’s how the numbers keep on rising.

The rising numbers aren’t lying. The schools experiencing cases aren’t lying.

And the US warning is far from a surprise. Let’s deal with this, not ignore it.

Brutality allegations

A case of alleged police brutality is back in the spotlight as it seems the officer in the case has retired from the force, with a full pension.

Understandably, the attorney representing one of the victims in the alleged incident is concerned that this should not be seen as an end to the matter.

“I do not think it’s a coincidence that his retirement comes so soon after this most recent allegation has been made against him,” said attorney Craig Butler.

“I don’t think they’re doing any disciplinary action against him. If they were doing him, why would they let him retire with full honours and all of his benefits?

They don’t plan on pushing this any further. I believe, and this is my opinion, I believe that they think that the retirement of him would probably be sufficient to quell this.”

The story emerged after the incident was caught on audio. The officer concerned was placed on administrative leave after the incident on February 28 pending an investigation.

This should not be the end of the story. For the sake of justice, a full investigation should still be carried out.

Police Commissioner Paul Rolle yesterday declined to discuss disciplinary matters saying the case is sub judice, but there’s no criminal case underway here so he should speak to it.

The Tribune is aware from speaking to police sources that the commissioner has a zero tolerance when it comes to police brutality – and The Tribune’s reporting on court cases seems to have shown a noticeable drop in the number of cases where people claim they have been beaten by officers. Pushing a case into the long grass, however, does nothing to bolster confidence in such an approach.

When there are allegations of brutality against police officers, there should be absolute transparency. Anything less suggests to others that they can get away with it, and it will all be brushed under the carpet. That the force will wait and hope it goes away. We need to know if police brutality occurred – and equally the officer’s name needs to be cleared if he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

Hoping it all will just get forgotten is a cowardly way out – and does nothing to inspire confidence in our police force.

Independence or oppression?

EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT IS tearful that this year Zimbabwe turns 41 amid growing fear among citizens, repression, human rights abuses and closure of democratic space. This is a day to celebrate, yet for many Zimbabweans it is just like any other ordinary day as it symbolises a betrayal by the liberation generation who, from liberators, have morphed into oppressors. It is tragic therefore that in independent Zimbabwe, the rulers have continued using the colonial legal system – an instrument upon which officials based their conception of a new social order, to suppress citizens. Independence was a product of a protracted liberation struggle mounted to ensure

that there’s an equal and just society where fundamental human rights are respected, equal access to economic resources, land, and economic emancipation and an end to minority rule. To date, several activists including journalists have suffered the state’s heavy-handedness.

On January 8, 2021, prominent freelance journalist Hopewell Chin’ono was arrested for the third time in six months on spurious charges by the Zimbabwe Republic Police ZRP of publishing or communicating false statements. The arrest was a reflection of the muzzling of free expression, digital or internet rights and continued harassment of media personnel by the state. On March 1, 2021, police arrested three

students; Richard Paradzayi, Paidamoyo Masaraure and Lean Kanengoni on charges of unnecessary movement after they had attended court in solidarity with Haruzivishe. On March 5, 2021, opposition MDC Alliance activists Joana Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri were arrested at the Magistrates’ Courts where they had also attended court in solidarity with Haruzivishe, and they continue to languish in remand prison. Civil society has been appealing to SADC to call the Zimbabwean government to end human rights abuses but the regional bloc has remained mum.

KUDZAI CHIKOWORE London, England, April 19, 2021.

Animal abuse and violence EDITOR, The Tribune.

I SENT a letter to this paper about the abuse of a puppy by a young man in a pet store. I do not know if it was published but I never saw it in the paper and I purchase The Tribune almost every day.

I shared how the young man said that the puppy was “soft” and that was why his friend was treating it roughly. Each of them had an innocent puppy to torture and in their minds they were making the animals tough.

This tells us that something is wrong mentally and spiritually with these young men.

I was very upset and told them not to treat the dogs like that. I was told that they were not my dogs so I should go where I going.

I hope The Tribune prints this letter because as a Bahamian I have some things that I want to say. I observe that political letters that take up the whole page are printed very often and they are often written by the same person. I ask that the same courtesy be given to me.

Firstly, I want to say that the abuse of animals is a crime and anyone who witnesses it or is aware that it is going on should call the police.

I have noticed that in our society very few adults speak out against what is wrong.

I have witnessed school children on countless occasions, doing wrong in the presence of adults and not a word is said.

I am always the one to speak up because I believe that this is how children and people in general learn what is ok or acceptable.

We as a society must have a standard. I prayed for those poor puppies and I asked God to intervene and take them out of

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net their care.

I had to leave the store, but I wonder if anyone else spoke to them about the horrible evil they were doing or called the police or offered to buy the dogs from them just to save them. Did anyone do anything?

Secondly, our police should and must take animal abuse seriously. No one should be laughed at if they call to report abuse and ask for a police officer to come and deal with the matter.

Those in charge of law enforcement should research the connection between animal abuse and other violent crimes.

I have heard the minister of National Security quote statistics on many things, but I would like him to research how many persons in America who are charged with animal abuse are also charged with violent crimes.

I heard on the news that the President of the Christian Council said that the criminals have no boundaries because they shot a woman and her baby. This is indeed true. That incident was disturbing and heartless.

My point is that if someone can abuse or hurt or kill an animal they can and will most likely kill or hurt a human being without thought.

It is for this reason that the government and governments to come should pass more stringent laws on animal abuse and neglect.

Also along with severe penalties should come psychological therapy.

Persons charged with such crimes should not be allowed to own animals ever again.

Also the government needs to ban the breeding of dogs, especially pit bulls who are usually recipients of abuse by ignorant, heartless owners.

The Commissioner of Police should give firm orders to his officers to take crimes against animals seriously and to enforce all laws including the abuse or neglect of animals.

There is no doubt that anyone who can hurt an animal can and will hurt a person.

For too long this crime has been downplayed by police and by some people in general.

We need to establish animal abuse hotlines and assign officers to this unit who will take these crimes seriously.

We need to allow for anonymous tips and offer rewards.

If we apprehend an animal abuser of any age we are intervening in the life of a person who is on his or her way to more violent and dangerous crimes and hopefully we can prevent another assault or murder from taking place.

Animals may be unable to speak but they have feelings and emotions just like we do.

They feel hunger, thirst, and pain and they also want to be loved.

Just about every day on the news in the United States we hear stories of how policemen or firemen rescued an animal or how an animal abuser was jailed.

The US has a population of millions of people and yet they have created and are enforcing laws that protect animals. We need to do the same.

A VOICE ANIMALS Nassau, April 18, 2021.

FOR

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 20, 2021, PAGE 7

LADERIA Russell outside court yesterday. She denied a number of charges - and is accused of 160 charges in total relating to forged documents in connection with people attempting to travel using fake COVID-19 test results.

Photo: Racardo Thomas

Woman denies guilt over falsified COVID test results

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 35-YEAR-OLD woman was charged yesterday with 40 counts of possession of a forged document in connection to the recent trend of people attempting to travel using falsified COVID-19 test results.

Laderia Russell appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt charged with several fraud-related offences which the prosecution said she committed between November 2020

and March of this year.

Prosecutors have filed 80 counts of forgery and another 80 counts of possession of a forged document against Russell.

Yesterday, the accused denied 40 of the 160 allegations brought against her.

According to prosecutors, Russell, with the intent to deceive, was found with three Doctors Hospital health system negative COVID-19 RT-PCR tests in the name of Verneiqua Bethel on January 28, February 11 and 25.

The court heard she

was also found with additional falsified test results in the names of Mervin Langley, Ethel Smith, Deron Duncombe, Sherwanda Hanna and Prescott Cleare on February 10; March 5; January 16; February 4 and January 20 respectively.

After spending last night on remand, Russell returns to court today to enter a plea to the remaining 120 charges.

Over the past few weeks, a number of people were arrested and prosecuted after they attempted to use fake COVID-19 test results to travel to various islands

SUSPECT ACCUSED OVER FATAL STABBING

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 23-YEAR-OLD man was yesterday charged with murder in connection with a stabbing incident that left one man dead last week.

Nicholas McKinney appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt charged with the death of Alexander Coakley on April 12.

According to initial police reports, shortly after 5pm that day, police were told two men were involved in an argument on Key West Street.

“This resulted in one of the males stabbing the other with a knife several times about the body,” police said. “The victim was transported to the hospital via a private vehicle, where he later succumbed to his injuries.”

During the hearing, McKinney was not required to enter a plea and the matter was adjourned to July 1 for the presentation of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

In the meantime, he was denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

He has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

MAN ACCUSED OVER GUN AND AMMUNITION

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 29-YEAR-OLD man was charged with illegal firearm and ammunition possession in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Prosecutors alleged Ramirez Cameron was

found with a black .40 Smith & Wesson pistol and two rounds of unfired .40 ammunition in August of last year.

During his hearing before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt yesterday, he denied the allegation.

However, before the magistrate could make a

determination on bail, the prosecution requested additional time to review his file.

As a result, Cameron’s case was adjourned to April 21 for a bail hearing and the scheduling of a trial date.

The accused will remain in custody until that time.

26-YEAR-OLD ON RAPE CHARGE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A 26-YEAR-OLD man was charged with rape in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Percival Taylor, 26, of Sunset, Freeport, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson.

It is alleged that on April 10, at Freeport, the accused had sexual intercourse with a 44-year-old woman without her consent.

Carlson Shurland represented Taylor, who was not required to enter a plea to the charge. The case was adjourned to July 26.

He was denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

Viewing Notice For

Matriarch Beverley Farida Bain-Finley, 75 will be held on Wednesday, April 21st, 2021 at Butlers’ Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Ernest and York Streets from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30p.m. and from 1:30p.m. to 4:00p.m.

Current Emergency COVID-19 regulations are in effect.

Social Distancing and Face Masks will be enforced.

A Memorial Service is scheduled for Thursday, April 22nd, 2021 at Salem Baptist Church, Taylor Street, Nassau, The Bahamas.

in the country.

Earlier this month, a 21-year-old mother was sentenced to six months in prison for presenting a false Doctors Hospital COVID-19 test result when she attempted to travel on April 7.

Last week, Monalisa Davis was also fined $5,000 after she presented a fake Bonaventure Medical Laboratory RT-PCR negative COVID test to a COVID ambassador at Lynden

Pindling International Airport on April 11.

Meanwhile, an Abaco man who paid nearly $200 for a fake COVID test he presented to airport officials in an attempt to return home, was also ordered to pay the same fine to avoid spending three months behind bars.

The recent trend in fake tests results has prompted the Royal Bahamas Police Force to warn people against obtaining fake

COVID-19 tests.

In a press release last week they stated: “The Commissioner Paul Rolle and his team are advising all citizens, residents and visitors to go through the correct procedures when obtaining such documentation for travel or otherwise.

We urge you to take this warning seriously to avoid prosecution and to help keep you, your family and the wider community healthy.”

PAGE 8, Tuesday, April 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

SETTING OUT THE PATH TO GIVING WOMEN A FAIRER DEAL

CLOCKWISE from top left, Charlene Paul, Lady Avril Anande Trotman-Joseph, Daniela Carrera-Marquis, Dr Jacinta Higgs, and Marisa Mason-Smith.

SOMEWHERE out there, a little girl dreams of becoming the first female Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. This lofty aspiration will not be out of reach if the Caribbean Women in Leadership (CIWiL) and Zonta Club of New Providence have anything to do about it. They have been assiduously working to change the narrative and place females at equal levels as males in leadership positions in every profession.

Most recently, they led a four-day training series called “Preparing Women in Leadership, Parliamentary and Public Office Training”. More than 400 women registered for the event, making it a historymaking training workshop, proving the power of outreach in a digital space.

The steering committee was resolved to see to it that more women contest a seat in the next General Elections than ever before. They believe that without enough women in leadership in politics and governance, the needs of women, and even children, are not being met on the level that they need to be.

This can have ripple effects in terms of social, health, educational, and other aspects of everyday life.

Policies must be put in place to support the advancement and empowerment of women and without women in key positions to present their cause, they run the risk of being overlooked. To this end, CIWiL and Zonta joined with the Department of Gender and Family Affairs (DGFA), Ministry of Social Services and Community Development with support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to host the virtual seminar, which covered two weekends.

Participants included a number of women who are currently vying to represent the people of The Bahamas in the next General Elections. They include: Arinthia Komolafe, leader of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA); S Ali McIntosh, leader of the Bahamas Constitution Party; Pia Glover-Rolle, Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Candidate for Golden Gates; Richa Sands of the Bahamas Coalition

Face to Face

By FELICITY DARVILLE

of Independents; and others. They were joined by several potential candidates who have yet to be named, as well as current political leaders.

Attendees also included numerous public officials as well as private sector leaders including CEOs, and a large number of aspirants seeking either political or public office, or corporate leadership. Current Free National Movement (FNM) Cabinet member Pakeisha Parker-Edgecombe and Bahamian-born city council representative for Miami Gardens Shannan Ighodaro brought their expertise to the table.

Each session was interactive and required participation, giving each individual a chance to take part in a notable event designed to turn the tides of national leadership in favour of women with a view to support and walk alongside men. Speaker of the House of Assembly D Halston Moultrie participated with his support, attendance and endorsement of the training. He expressed his honour in being a part and looked forward to the development and growth of women and their commitment to empower and advance the status of women in political and national service.

CIWiL pinpointed four goals for the training sessions: to provide leadership training for candidates in national or local elections; to improve the understanding of governance and identify approaches/ opportunities to promote gender equality and women’s transformational leadership in governance; to formulate strategies to overcome barriers which may limit their involvement and active participation in political and decisionmaking capacities; and to identify opportunities for action to influence positive outcomes for women and constituents.

CIWiL Chair and former DNA candidate Charlene

Paul said the workshops focused on preparing candidates and “providing women with the skills and knowledge to become agents of social change”.

The training sessions, she added, are “key to building the skills, knowledge and values women need to participate in the political process”. CIWiL aims to achieve more just, poverty-free, violence-free and equitable nations throughout the Caribbean region, and women must be fully involved in the decisionmaking processes that impact their lives.

“Women in decision making roles are still the exception rather than the norm,” Zonta’s National Advocacy Chair Marisa Mason-Smith pointed out.

Zonta seeks to empower and advance the status of women through service and advocacy.

“Without a critical mass of women in our Parliament or our boardrooms, women’s voices are still absent from the major decisions made in this country. More than ever, we are mindful of the importance of women’s leadership for the holistic empowerment of women as a driver of gender equality, social and economic progress in nation-building.

ZONTA joins with the United Nations and the world in celebrating the social, cultural, economic and political achievements of women. Today there is more acceptance than ever before that women bring different experiences, perspectives and skills to the table, and make irreplaceable contributions to decisions, policies and laws that work better for all.”

CIWiL and Zonta first made history when, on December 11, 2020, they along with other NGOs organized the first-ever Women in Parliament session on the invitation of Speaker Moultrie. There were two resolutions presented: to eliminate gender-based violence by 2030; and to increase women

leadership in Parliament and national office and to encourage and support Government, Official Opposition and all political parties deliver the requisite training and to establish quotas as follows: Institute Quotas for all Political Parties to ensure that no less than: • 30 percent of the constituencies in 2022 general election be reserved for women; • 50 percent of Senatorial appointments by both government and opposition are women; • 50 percent of candidates chosen to contest local government elections are women; • 50 percent of Cabinet appointments be women; and • 50 percent of the constituencies in 2027 general election be reserved for women, so that The Bahamas will achieve its obligations to the Bahamian people.

Minister of Social Services and Urban Development Frankie Campbell opened the event, throwing his full support behind the resolutions and the efforts to train women to be ready to take up more positions in governmental leadership.

On Friday, March 19, the sessions began with: “Understanding the Bahamian Political Culture: A Historical Overview”.

Dame Janet Bostwick, first female Member of Parliament and first female Attorney General for the FNM, left participants in awe as she laid out the Bahamian political landscape from then to now. She placed it all in the context of where the nation needs to go in her address, “Breaking the Glass Ceiling”.

Former PLP Cabinet Ministers the Allison Maynard-Gibson and Melanie Griffin spoke on “Women in Political Transition” and “Women and the Legislative Process” respectively. Senator Jasmin Dareus looked at “Women and the Preparation Process”. Attendees benefitted from not only hearing from our women political leaders, but being able to put questions to them and gain sound advice for their own way forward.

United Nations Committee to End Discrimination Against Women and Girls (CEDAW) member Marion

Bethel put the Bahamas’ issues in a global context. She spoke on the international and regional mechanisms on human rights and gender equality. She also shared on research close to her heart – the vision and activism of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in The Bahamas.

The following day, UN representative Gaynel Curry expanded on the UN Resolutions and goals and what guided on what is necessary to meet them.

Dr Rosina Wiltshire, CIWiL Founding Member and Gender Specialist, led the Saturday session on: “The Importance of Transformational and Gender-Responsible Leadership – Repositioned”.

This included understanding Human Rights, democracy and political participation; and identification of the relevant core international conventions, treaties, platforms and goals that shape women’s rights and state responsibilities (CEDAW; Beijing Platform for Action; Belem do Para; SDGs). CIWiL also addressed good governance and government responsibilities, while breakout sessions allowed women to discuss these issues in smaller groups.

Dr Wiltshire focused on the qualities of a transformational leader versus a transactional leader, noting that there is a greater need for more transformational leaders as it touches to the core of humanity.

Daniela CarreraMarquis, Country Representative for InterAmerican Development Bank Country Office Bahamas encouraged participants and reminded them that organisations like the IDB give women the support and in some cases, the funding necessary to achieve national development goals. During the Friday, March 26 session, Lady Anande Trotman Joseph, CIWiL Board President explained how to build partnerships and allies that could last women leaders for a lifetime.

With media and communications playing such an important role in women getting their message out, professionals in this area gave their expertise, including: Felicity Darville; D’Asante Small; Heather McDonald; Kim Welcome;

and Dr Deborah Bartlett.

On Saturday, March 27, the IDB’s Natalie Bethel tackled “Gender – Data and Development”. Former FNM Senator Tanya McCartney gave a riveting presentation on “Leading in a Patriarchal Society”, while Joanne Massiah laid down the rules and provided the tools, mindset and expectations in “Preparing for Representation”.

Participants gave high marks for the four-day training session, with special thanks to steering committee members Marisa Mason-Smith and Charlene Paul (Co-Chairs); Dr Jacinta Higgs, Director DGFA; UN representatives Bethel and Curry; Senate President Dr. Mildred HallWatson; and CIWiL board members Jewel Edwards, Sharon Martin and Sheena Culmer.

The Women in Parliament session set out a list of objectives, and the steering committee found the need for training and retraining as vital to achieve these objectives.

They include: prioritize and enact laws to address intimate partner, gender based, domestic and sexual violence, marital rape, sexual harassment, cyber violence, and online stalking; establish a statutory National Non-Violence Council empowered to provide grants for nongovernmental organizations to implement non-violence programmes, public education, capacity-building training, projects and research relative to eliminations violence against women, men, boys, girls, children and families; reform constitution, laws and regulations to allow a mother to transfer her citizenship to her child; implement a gender sensitive national budget and enact a National Gender Equality Bill, to ensure the equity, equality, parity and empowerment of women and men; strengthen the national statistical system to fund and conduct surveys about gender-based violence, asset ownership, poverty, disability and migration; and promote equal participation of women in leadership matters of environment, climate change, gender mainstreaming, disaster reduction and recovery.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 20, 2021, PAGE 9

No pomp, little ceremony as a nation and family says farewell AFTER writing last week about the life and times of Prince Philip who passed away on April 9, I now offer further comment following his funeral service on Saturday. It might also be interesting to reflect on the state of the monarchy in modern Britain.

Instead of a full-blown state funeral which he had made clear he did not want, a royal ceremonial military funeral was held in the magnificent setting of Windsor Castle with a service in St George’s Chapel. Members of the public were not allowed to attend because of the pandemic.

In brilliant spring sunshine, detachments of the Armed Forces, including massed bands, were drawn up in formation at a dignified parade on the lawns of the castle. Some military personnel also later lined the route of the ceremonial procession of the coffin to the service in the chapel, with members of the Royal Family – not in uniform but displaying their medals – walking behind it.

A nationwide one-minute’s silence preceded the service.

The pageantry and precision were in keeping with Britain’s fine reputation for the organisation of public

events, and the whole ceremony, which had been planned by Prince Philip himself, has been described as a mixture of solemnity, grace and reverence. It was poignant, moving and even beautiful as the griefstricken royals paid a fitting farewell to him.

The coronavirus restrictions meant that attendance at the service was limited to 30 who were mostly family members – and, to the consternation of some observers, the Queen sat by herself inside the chapel. Many have spoken of their sadness in watching her all alone, with her head bowed and wiping away tears, saying a final farewell to her ‘strength and stay’ after their extraordinary 73-year life together.

The service, which lasted under an hour, was powerful in its simplicity and its reflection of the family’s faith. The music, performed by a choir limited to four members, was perfect. The opening hymn, beseeching the ‘Eternal Father’ to protect ‘those in peril on the sea’, related to the Prince’s distinguished career in the Royal Navy, including his wartime service. The first lesson from Ecclesiasticus extolled the wonder of creation, and this was followed by Psalm 104

The Peter Young column as a paean to the natural world that God built. Both reflected his passionate interest in the environment and conservation and some of the causes he championed.

The second lesson from St John’s Gospel highlighted the central Christian belief in the resurrection and eternal life. There was no eulogy, but the Dean of Windsor spoke of Prince Philip’s unwavering loyalty to The Queen and service to the nation and to the Commonwealth and of his courage, fortitude and faith which had been an

inspiration to so many.

To conclude the service, a lone Scottish piper played a ‘lament’ followed by buglers of the Royal Marines sounding the Last Post.

This whole event was deeply moving. For members of the public, forced to stay away due to coronavirus but who may have watched the ceremony on television, it must surely have been a day that will be long remembered. The BBC, whose broadcasting of all aspects of the ceremony could justifiably be described as impeccable, claim there were some 14 million viewers in the UK alone.

Several days later, people’s concern for The Queen is still very much to the fore. It is already being said that Windsor Castle where she and Prince Philip spent the last months of his life together - will henceforward become the centre of royal activity and that Windsor will be her permanent home while returning to Buckingham Palace to work as appropriate.

Now alone, she will still be faced with difficult issues like the fallout from the departure of Prince Harry from royal life and the incendiary but false claims of racism – and it has been suggested

that Prince Philip, true to form, would have wanted the family to move on and heal their differences.

Everyone will surely hope The Queen will be sustained by her deep faith and legendary stoicism, and - in the reported words of one of her ladies-in-waiting - that ‘she will carry on as she always does’.

In Britain, one way of trying to gauge public opinion – apart from the many national polls which too often are misleading or inaccurate – is by studying online the comments in reaction to articles in the national press.

Sometimes, they run into the thousands in relation to a single subject. From these, it is not hard to deduce that overall the public’s hearts and minds remain firmly with The Queen at such a difficult time for her, with an outpouring of grief and goodwill as a human reaction to her personal loss – including from some who profess to be anti-royal. She is anyway held in high public esteem for her patience, tolerance and wisdom and for her dedication to duty throughout her long life during which she has always put service above self. Perhaps the knowledge of how people feel about her will be

THE STICKING PLASTER WHICH BROUGHT PEACE MAY BE COMING OFF NORTHERN Ireland is in the news again but for the wrong reasons – a return of violence on its streets.

More than 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement brought an end to the Troubles - which lasted for some 30 years from 1968 and cost more than 3,500 lives turmoil has erupted again in what has been called by the police the worst violence there for years. It has been described as a rerun of images from the darkest days of the Troubles.

Most of the acts of violence have been carried out by youths involved in sporadic rioting and throwing petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks at the police and their vehicles in mainly loyalist areas in Belfast and several other centres.

All the Northern Ireland main political parties have called for an ‘immediate and complete end’ to the violence but they are divided about its causes, and, reportedly, there is evidence of loyalist paramilitary groups encouraging the violence.

The grievances of the protesters appear to be linked to a decision not to prosecute leaders of the republican Sinn Fein party for breaching coronavirus regulations at a funeral last year for an Irish

Republican Army leader. The violence has also been attributed to simmering tensions over the UK/ EU Brexit deal. But the roots of discontent run deeper than that since sectarianism remains very real.

According to the most recent evidence, since March sectarian rioting has broken out that has developed into clashes over the so-called peace wall in West Belfast. This divides the predominantly Protestant loyalist community that wants Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom and the predominantly Catholic nationalists who want it to become part of the Republic of Ireland.

Northern Ireland - also known as Ulster - was created in 1921 when Ireland was partitioned by Britain’s Government of Ireland Act of 1920. It had a devolved government and remained a part of the United Kingdom. The institutions set up under this legislation continued to function until they were suspended by Britain in 1972 as a consequence of the Troubles, and that remained the situation until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Some historians, who regard the original creation of Northern

Ireland as a calamitous error by the British government, contend that the 1998 agreement did no more than put a sticking plaster on the wounds of sectarianism.

They say Northern Ireland has largely been a failed state insofar as now - 100 years later - it remains riven by sectarianism which has created an unbridgeable chasm between the two communities following their original deep differences.

The Good Friday Agreement between Britain, Ireland and most of the political parties in Northern Ireland was about how to govern the territory and it aimed to establish a new, devolved government in which unionists and nationalists would share power. It determined that Northern Ireland would remain a part of the UK until a majority there and in the Republic of Ireland wished otherwise. But 20 years later the divisions seem to be as wide as ever.

As unionists maintain their uncompromising defence of their status as part of the UK, it is perhaps hardly surprising their leaders have been emphasising their dissatisfaction with the new trading arrangements established by the Northern Ireland Protocol to the Withdrawal Agreement

which took the UK out of the European Union.

It was eventually agreed by the UK and the EU that the only way of keeping open the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (an EU member state) was for the former to remain in the EU single market. The result is that goods being moved from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland will be subject to import controls there. Unionists see this as not only damaging trade but also threatening Northern Ireland’s place in the UK which, as they see it, is becoming ‘semi-detached’.

Some commentators are now saying the unionists have a sense of doom as the tide of history seems to be turning against them and towards reunification of the province with the Republic of Ireland. There have been failures of governance in Northern Ireland together with demographic change in favour of Catholics. So perhaps their fears are justified. But few would care to predict the future in what remains a volatile situation.

In the vivid words of one observer who is in a position to know, Northern Ireland ‘remains trapped in a vortex of hostilities’.

The Queen’s greatest comfort at such a sad time.

That is not to say public sympathy equates to public support for the future of the monarchy as an institution after her time as the longestreigning English monarch in history. However, even though to some people the principle of the nation’s hereditary monarchy is absurdly anachronistic in modern times, the evidence shows republican sentiment is very limited.

Nonetheless, Prince Philip knew the Crown had to adapt to retain its relevance and he managed to do this by modernising it – making it more open to scrutiny, less socially exclusive and improving the efficiency of the royal household. Like The Queen, he placed duty before self and was committed to ceremonial duties and to charitable causes for which royal patronage was important. He also, of course, pursued his own enormously successful projects like the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award which transformed the lives of so many young people - guided by his famous watchword: ‘just get on with it’.

In his statement after news of Prince Philip’s passing, Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke of the monarchy remaining ‘an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life’. It is fair to say the vast majority of British people favour it and are proud of it, not least because it reinforces the nation’s sense of identity and continuity and is a symbol of its rich history. As politicians come and go, its enduring presence holds people together, lifts their spirits and promotes stability. The Queen is politically neutral but exercises authority as a constitutional monarch.

The outpouring of grief and sense of public loss after the passing of Prince Philip is surely a measure of the strength of the monarchy. The Prince was admired and appreciated for his life of duty and service - including his wartime bravery - and his charismatic personality.

A member of the public summed it all up the other day in answer to a journalist’s question – ‘You know, many people have been more affected by his death than they imagined. He was a man of great dignity and humanity from a different age and I don’t suppose we’ll see his like again’.

PAGE 10, Tuesday, April 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

SOARING INTO RED SKIES

NASA’s experimental Mars helicopter Ingenuity lands on the surface of Mars yesterday. The little four-pound helicopter rose from the dusty red surface into the thin Martian air, achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.

CAPITOL COP DIED OF STROKE CAPITOL Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was injured while confronting rioters during the January 6 insurrection, suffered a stroke and died from natural causes, the Washington, DC, medical examiner’s office ruled yesterday, a finding that lessens the chances that anyone will be charged in his death.

Investigators initially believed the officer was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher. And they later thought the 42-year-old Sicknick may have ingested a chemical substance — possibly bear spray — that may have contributed to his death.

But the determination of a natural cause of death means the medical examiner found a medical condition alone caused his death — it was not brought on by an injury. The determination is likely to significantly inhibit the ability of federal prosecutors to bring homicide charges in Sicknick’s death.

Federal prosecutors have charged two men with using bear spray on Sicknick during the January 6 riot. The arrests of George Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, West Virginia, and Julian Khater, 32, of Pennsylvania, were the closest federal prosecutors have come to identifying and charging anyone associated with the five deaths that happened during and after the riot.

PROUD BOYS LEADERS TO BE JAILED UNTIL TRIAL A FEDERAL judge yesterday ordered two leaders of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group to be arrested and jailed while awaiting trial on charges they planned and coordinated an attack on the US Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

Joseph Biggs and Ethan Nordean had been free since their March 10 indictment, but US District Judge Timothy Kelly concluded the two men are dangerous and no conditions for their release could be adequate.

The judge said Biggs and Nordean “facilitated political violence” even if they weren’t armed and didn’t assault anybody at the Capitol on January 6.

Kelly overruled another federal judge in Washington, DC, who had ordered pretrial home confinement for Nordean.

Biggs was freed after his initial January 20 arrest in his home state of Florida.

Justice Department prosecutors initially didn’t seek to keep Biggs jailed but last month asked for his pretrial release to be revoked, saying new evidence shows he poses a “grave danger” to the community.

NASA’s experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose into the thin air above the dusty red surface of Mars yesterday, achieving the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet.

The triumph was hailed as a Wright brothers moment. The mini four-pound copter even carried a bit of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer that made similar history at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.

It was a brief hop — just 39 seconds and ten feet — but accomplished all the major milestones.

“Goosebumps. It looks just the way we had tested,” project manager MiMi Aung said as she watched the flight video during a later briefing.

“Absolutely beautiful flight. I don’t think I can ever stop watching it over and over again.”

Flight controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California declared success after

receiving the data and images via the Perseverance rover. Ingenuity hitched a ride to Mars on Perseverance, clinging to the rover’s belly when it touched down in an ancient river delta in February.

The $85m helicopter demo was considered high risk, yet high reward.

“A whole new way to explore the alien terrain in our solar system is now at our disposal,” Nottingham Trent University astronomer Daniel Brown said from England.

This first test flight — with more to come by Ingenuity, the next as soon as Thursday — holds great promise, Brown noted. Future helicopters could serve as scouts for rovers, and eventually astronauts.

Ingenuity has provided a third dimension to planetary exploration and “freed us from the surface now forever”, said JPL director, Michael Watkins.

Chauvin trial waits for verdict MINNEAPOLIS Associated Press THE murder case against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd has gone to the jury.

Twelve jurors — six of them white, six Black or multiracial — are beginning deliberations in a city on edge against another round of unrest.

During closing arguments Monday, prosecutors contended that Chauvin squeezed the life out of Floyd by pinning his knee against Floyd’s neck last May, ignoring bystanders, his own training and common sense.

The defence argued that the nowfired white officer acted reasonably and that the 46-year-old Black man died of an underlying heart condition and illegal drug use.

Officer Derek Chauvin “had to know” he was squeezing the life out of George Floyd as the Black man cried over and over that he couldn’t breathe and finally fell silent, a prosecutor told the jury during closing arguments at Chauvin’s murder trial.

“Use your common sense.

Believe your eyes. What you saw, you saw,” Steve Schleicher said, referring to the excruciating bystander video of Floyd pinned to the pavement with Chauvin’s knee on or close to his neck last May for up to 9 minutes, 29 seconds, as bystanders yelled at the white officer to get off.

Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson countered by arguing that Chauvin did what any “reasonable” police officer would have done after finding himself in a “dynamic” and “fluid” situation involving a large man struggling with three officers.

As Nelson began speaking, the now-fired Chauvin removed his COVID-19 mask in front of the jury for one of the very few times during the trial.

The dueling arguments got underway with Minneapolis on edge after Floyd’s death last spring set off protests in the city and across the US that at times turned violent.

The defence contends not only that Chauvin acted reasonably but that the 46-year-old Floyd died of heart disease and illegal drug use, not Chauvin’s actions.

Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell had the final word, offering the state’s rebuttal argument. The prosecutor, who is Black, said that the questions about the use of force and cause of death are “so simple that a child can understand it”.

“In fact, a child did understand it, when the nine-year-old girl said, ‘Get off of him,’” Blackwell said, referring to a young witness who objected to what she saw. “That’s how simple it was. `Get off of him.’

Common sense.”

Under the law, police are given certain latitude to use force, and their actions are supposed to be judged according to what a “reasonable officer” in the same situation would have done — a point the defense stressed repeatedly.

Nelson noted that officers who first went to the corner store where Floyd allegedly tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill already were struggling with Floyd when Chauvin arrived as backup. The attorney

DEMONSTRATORS gather for a solidarity rally in memory of George Floyd and Daunte Wright on Sunday in Minneapolis.

Photo: John Minchillo/AP

FORMER Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in court yesterday. also noted that the first two officers on the scene were rookies and that police had been told that Floyd might be on drugs.

“A reasonable police officer understands the intensity of the struggle,” Nelson said, saying that Chauvin’s body-worn camera and his police badge were knocked off his chest.

During the prosecution’s argument, Schleicher replayed portions of the bystander video and other footage as he dismissed certain defense theories about Floyd’s death as “nonsense”, saying Chauvin killed Floyd by constricting his breathing.

Schleicher rejected the drug overdose argument, as well as the contention that police were distracted by hostile onlookers, that Floyd had “superhuman” strength from a state of agitation known as excited delirium, and that he suffered possible carbon monoxide

poisoning from auto exhaust.

The prosecutor sarcastically referred to the idea that it was heart disease that killed Floyd as an “amazing coincidence”.

“Is that common sense or is that nonsense?” Schleicher asked the racially diverse jury.

But Nelson said the prosecution brought in experts to testify that Floyd died because of asphyxia, or lack of oxygen, while the person who actually performed the autopsy, the county medical examiner, reached a different finding.

Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr Andrew Baker, who ruled Floyd’s death a homicide, said Floyd’s heart gave out because of the way police held him down. He listed Floyd’s drug use and underlying health problems as contributing factors. Nelson also showed the jury pictures of pills found in Floyd’s SUV and pill remnants discovered in the squad car. Fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in Floyd’s system.

The defence attorney said the failure of the prosecution to acknowledge that medical problems or drugs played a role “defies medical science and it defies common sense and reason”.

But Blackwell said prosecutors only have to prove that Chauvin’s actions were a substantial causal factor in his death, not the sole cause. He also ridiculed the idea that Floyd, who didn’t have a pulse, would come “back to life” and go on a “rampage”.

“That’s the sort of thing you see in Halloween movies., ladies and gentlemen, not in real life. Not in real life,” Blackwell said.

And he rejected the theory that Floyd died because of an enlarged

heart: “The truth of the matter is that the reason George Floyd is dead is because Mr Chauvin’s heart was too small.”

Earlier, fellow prosecutor Schleicher described how Chauvin ignored Floyd’s cries and continued to kneel on him well after he stopped breathing and had no pulse.

Chauvin was “on top of him for 9 minutes and 29 seconds and he had to know,” Schleicher said. “He had to know.”

He said Chauvin “heard him, but he just didn’t listen.”

The prosecutor further argued that Floyd was “not a threat to anyone” and wasn’t trying to escape when he struggled with officers.

Instead, Schleicher said, he was terrified of being put into the tiny backseat of the squad car.

He said a reasonable officer with Chauvin’s training and experience — he was a 19-year Minneapolis police veteran — should have sized up the situation accurately.

Chauvin showed little expression as he watched himself and the other officers pinning Floyd to the ground on bodycam video played by his attorney.

Chauvin, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. All three charges require the jury to conclude that Chauvin’s actions were a “substantial causal factor” in Floyd’s death and that his use of force was unreasonable.

Second-degree intentional murder carries up to 40 years in prison, third-degree murder 25 years, and second-degree manslaughter ten years. Sentencing guidelines call for far less time, including 12 1/2 years on either murder count.

SECTION B

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2021

“Don’t just exist, live” Antonia Lightbourne wants people to find their purpose

“We truly believe that it is vital that we pause and thank persons who are selfless and who dedicate their lives to giving to those whom they have been called to serve.”

Purpose Awareness kicked the month off with its Purpose Discovery Session on April 9, where Simmone Bowe and Antonia led an in-depth discussion on ways in which people can discover their life’s purpose. Additional events focused on the topic “Empowered to Live” and were led by Nyisha Tilus and Shakeisha Johnson, and Ricardo Miller from Arlington, Texas. These sessions took place on April 10 , 16 and will culminate on April 23 .

“We will also host our first Teens in Purpose seminar under the theme ‘Live in Purpose’ and our speakers for this event are Kerel Pinder of Freeport and Sandena Neely, Brunay Clarke and Shaquille Hanna of Nassau.

This seminar will be hosted by Blandicah Cadet, a teen currently attending college in Lynchburg, Virginia,” said Antonia.

“We will have our ‘Make Me Coral’ purpose chat with makeup artist Jasmine Taylor, who will be sharing her story of choosing to live and her journey in the beauty industry. We will also be highlighting the stories of Delisa Ferguson, Erin Brown and Gregory Cash who all have powerful stories of choosing to live. We will close out Purpose Awareness Month with our Coral Table Talk on April 30, which will consist of a panel of dynamic, influential individuals who have decided to live and whose lives have been echoing this message of purpose.

This year, we will be honouring Darranique Stuart, Gillian CurryWilliams, Felecia Carey, and Sharad Jones at this year’s ‘Purpose In Pompey’.”

Antonia believes it is pertinent that individuals always understand how powerful they are.

“We often find ourselves feeling as if we are just here to merely exist and live a regular, mundane life, but there is so much more.

This year especially, I want to challenge people to really live in purpose,” she said.

“I am also looking forward to all of the events that we have planned and the impact that this year’s Purpose Awareness Month will have on all individuals that will participate. As the year continues, we are looking forward to travelling to the Family Islands to continue spreading the message of purpose. We will also host more empowering events and we plan to launch a purpose magazine, highlighting persons who are walking in their purpose.”

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

With all that has happened over the last 13 months, Antonia Lightbourne believes it is time to remind people “to live; don’t just exist. Choose life.”

And this is also the theme for her organisation’s activities during the month of April.

Her Purpose Awareness group is advocating for Bahamians to look beyond the pain, loss, disappointment, fear and anxiety, and attempt to embrace life again.

Purpose Awareness Month, she told Tribune Woman, is an initiative that emerged out of a great desire and to share the message of purpose. She believes the definition of purpose is simple yet very profound; it is the reason why something or someone exists. The discovery of purpose, she added, can be both prevention and cure for many societal ills.

This initiative, launched in April 2016 as Purpose Awareness Week, was relaunched as Purpose Awareness Month in April 2017 when the organisation received a proclamation from the Prime Minister of the Bahamas.

Over the years Antonia has celebrated under themes like “I Am Here”, “Discover”, “Unleash”, and “Legends”. This year, the theme “Live” will be hosted in collaboration with the title sponsor, Showman Bahamas Ltd. Purpose Awareness team members include LaQuisha Wallace, Kristoff Rolle, Janiqua Armbrister, Jade Williams, Felecia Burrows and Rayandra Nairn.

“We are excited to have received the Proclamation from the Prime Minister, Dr Hubert Minnis, declaring April 2021 as National Purpose Awareness Month and April 29, 2021 National Purpose Awareness Day. Our organisation is known for hosting events that are aimed at empowering and helping individuals find and fulfil their life’s purpose and answer the question ‘Why am I here?’ We have been able to touch the lives of many, particularly through our social media blasts where individuals have been able to share their purpose stories by using our branded Purpose Awareness frames each year,” said Antonia.

Also among the group’s initiatives is the “Purpose on my Campus” programme through which they host school tours and share the message of purpose with students all across the country.

“We also host our ‘Purpose in Pompey’ event in Pompey Square where we honour persons that are unapologetically walking in their purpose,” said Antonia.

Charo Morley continues mission to share richness of African Diaspora

When Charo Morley and her husband Alex first opened their Afrocentric store Black Food, they knew that they wanted it to be more than just a retail space.

Instead, they have used the business as a launching pad to educate and share with the wider community.

“We always knew when we decided to open the store that it would be based on a socialist model, because we are socialists,” Charo told Tribune Woman.

“We didn’t just want a business where people came and purchased stuff from us and it was all about just them giving us money.

We wanted to be able to give something back to the community

as well. We wanted people to be able to come and shop as well as engage in programmes and activities that can benefit the wider community. Everything that we promote is from the Black perspective, whether it is from the continent or an African American or African Caribbean perspective.”

Last week marked the first time that the couple hosted a documentary viewing in the store.

“Before COVID, we used to move around the community, set up projectors and show Black films,” she explained.

“People really enjoyed them and it’s something that we want to continue.”

Last week, Charo and her husband were able to continue this tradition, albeit in a smaller COVID-19 safe, intimate evening event where they showed “Life and Death – Life and Debt”, a 2001 American documentary film directed by CHARO Morley Stephanie Black. It examines the economic and social situHer husband Alex also gave a ation in Jamaica, and specifically presentation on the “Destruction how the International Monetary of the Black Crab Syndrome.”

Fund and the World Bank’s struc“The phrase describes when tural adjustment policies have crabs are in a pen and crawling impacted the island. over each other to get to the top

and is also used to symbolise how some people treat you in your quest to move ahead,” he said.

“We are pulling each other down and fighting against each other.”

He said that when an oppressor wants to control an oppressed person, they often convince that individual that they are barbaric person or society. He pointed out that Black people have a rich, storied history that goes back thousands of years. He said when colonists first arrived in Africa, they met civilised, wealthy societies which they then attacked.

He said Bahamians often do not take that long history into account, instead they consider their history to begin with Majority Rule in 1967.

Black Food is a celebration of all things African. The brand collaborates with vendors and artisans in the Bahamas and throughout the African Diaspora to curate a unique collection of books, clothing and handcrafted jewellery sourced from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and the United States, Jamaica, and the Bahamas.

The name Black Food comes from their desire to feed the community with their history and to add to the enhancement and appreciation of the Black Diaspora experience.

PAGE 12, Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Human papillomavirus in men Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most widespread sexually transmitted infection (STI). Most men do not know that HPV can potentially be a cancer-causing infection. Nearly 35,000 men and women are diagnosed every year in the United States with HPV related cancers.

Almost all men and women who are sexually active and not vaccinated for HPV will have HPV at some time in their lives, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Men can get HPV through vaginal, oral or anal sex with an infected individual. Most HPV infections clear up on their own within a few months of becoming infected, and nearly 90 percent of HPV infections would be cleared up within two years.

There are more than 100 types of HPV and about 40 of them are sexually transmitted. Each of the types of HPV is assigned a number and they are categorised as low risk or high risk. Low risk HPV strains may produce no symptoms or possibly cause warts on your penis, scrotum, anus or back of your throat and they often

resolve on their own without long term side effects.

High-risk HPV may lead to cell changes that may lead to various types of cancer such as penile cancer, throat and esophageal cancer and anal cancer in men.

According to the CDC 60 percent of penile cancers and 90 percent of cervical cancers affecting women, are caused by HPV. There is currently no way to test for HPV in men, but there are ways to test for the symptoms of HPV in men such as genital warts and HPV related cancers.

In 2006, the HPV vaccine became available to girls, teens and young adult women and consequently the HPV rate in American teens had reduced by 56 percent by 2013. The HPV vaccine was only approved for use in females until 2009. The current recommendation by the CDC is for two doses of the HPV vaccine be given to boys and girls between nine and 12 years old, and three doses be given over a six-month period to all boys and girls after the age of 15 up to the age of 26 years old.

In October 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

approved the use of the HPV vaccine in men and men aged 27 to 45 years old.

There is debate in the medical community regarding the use of HPV vaccines in men over the age of 26 years old. There is a clear medical consensus that all adolescent boys will benefit from receiving the HPV vaccine. A man of any age that has no HPV symptoms of warts or genital, anal, throat or esophageal cancer, should benefit from receiving the vaccine.

However, if a man has been sexually active and not always used a condom then it is likely that they will have HPV and there will be less benefit in receiving the HPV vaccine.

Unfortunately, worldwide there are more HPV vaccine outreach and education efforts directed at adolescent females and their parents. There is a widely accepted lack of education regarding the benefits of HPV vaccinations for boys, male adolescents, and young men up to the age of 45.

The best mode of protection against men getting HPV is using a condom every time and receiving the HPV vaccine. A man

may not develop an HPV related cancer, but they may transmit HPV to their female partner who may develop a cancer secondary to HPV. You cannot get HPV from a toilet seat or swimming in a pool or coming into contact with blood from an HPV infected individual.

HPV is spread through vaginal, anal and oral sex. It is spread through skin-to-skincontact.

There are three HPV vaccines – Cervarix, Gardasil and Gardasil 9 – which prevent cancers and diseases related to nine types of HPV. Approximately 92 percent of HPV related cancers can be prevented by the HPV vaccine.

Education and awareness are important keys in the prevention of HPV related diseases and cancers in both men and women. The HPV vaccine is readily available to females and males ages nine to 45 and it may prevent HPV related cancer for the individual or their future sexual partners.

Men use a condom every time and practice monogamy.

Seek comprehensive, confidential and compassionate urological care.

THE TRIBUNE

THE UROLOGY DOCTOR IS IN...

Dr Greggory Pinto • Dr Greggory Pinto is a board certified Bahamian urologist and laparoscopic surgeon. He has trained in Germany, South Africa and France, and is a member of the European Association of Urology. He can be contacted at OakTree Medical Center, #2 Fifth Terrace & Mount Royal Avenue. Telephone: (242) 322-1145 (6) (7); e-mail: welcome@urologycarebahamas.com, or visit the website:www.urologycarebahamas.com.

The importance of physiotherapy in a post-pandemic world Now that you’re aware of the expected long-term side effects of COVID-19, we can start looking into physiotherapists’ role in the rehabilitation post-COVID.

By DR FELICIA ADDERLEY, RPT, DPT, CKTP, MLD-C Physiotherapist Everyone is talking about it, and every single person is affected by it in some way. Whether it’s our family, friends, or our careers.

COVID-19 has changed our lives forever. As more and more people recover, we now observe the long-term challenges for the first time. Discovering these side effects, in turn, creates a massive need for rehabilitation, and this is precisely where physiotherapists come in.

This article will share the most common long-term side effects of the coronavirus, and the vital role physiotherapists play in fighting this battle.

The physiotherapist’s role in the rehabilitation post-COVID-19 Physiotherapists do a whole lot more than simply relieve musculature pain.

Depending on the residual symptoms you suffer from after recovering from the virus, your therapist will establish essential therapy goals.

These goals are targeted to the symptoms you present with and may include: Respiratory complications Respiratory complications are amongst the most common side effects after recovering.

Therefore, your physio will assess your pulmonary function to determine any impairments and then address them.

For example, if you struggle with shortness of breath and oxygen dependency, your therapist will initiate an endurance program and follow an O2-weaning protocol. This will help you regain your previous functional level without getting short of breath or needing oxygen during daily activities. Your therapist will also show you different ‘resting positions’ to recover and use when you experience extreme shortness of breath.

If you struggle with excess phlegm, your therapist will use various manual - and practical techniques to clear those secretions to ultimately improve the flow of air in and out of your lungs.

Five most common side effects post-COVID Recent studies evaluated the presence of persistent symptoms individuals experienced after recovering from the virus. The five most common ones include: • Cough (15 percent) • Shortness of breath and low oxygen saturation (43 percent) • Fatigue (53 percent) • Chest pain (22 percent) • Joint pain (27 percent) Researchers also discovered that other symptoms many suffered from include: • Muscle pain • Pounding heartbeat or cardiovascular injury • Loss of memory • Concentration and sleep problems • Loss of smell and taste • Hair loss • Skin rashes One peer-reviewed study conducted in Rome reported that only 12.6 percent of people who contracted the virus were completely free of COVID-19-related symptoms after recovering. Yet, in reality, 32 percent suffered from one or two symptoms, while 55 percent suffered three or more after recovering.

Musculoskeletal complications Some of the expected long-term complications include muscle ache, headaches, joint pain and general weakness. Fortunately, your

physio is highly trained to manage these side effects.

They will use numerous manual techniques to relieve spasms and trigger points, improve pain-free joint function, and manage those pounding headaches. Plus, if you struggle with general weakness, your therapist will also start you on a strengthening exercise program to safely get you back to your previous and strong self.

Cognitive issues As you might have noticed, memory and concentration is another common complication many suffer from after recovering. Your physio will initiate a cognitive stimulatory exercise program designed to enhance your memory and attention. They will also provide emotional support as many experience difficult challenges throughout the recovery process.

Difficulty performing activities of daily living Many individuals become weaker and less active due to the extreme fatigue in the months after contracting the virus. Your physio will assist you with functional training to regain your strength and endurance, while also relieving fatigue so that you can return to your previous healthy and active self.

Bottom line Even though we still don’t fully understand the coronavirus’s longterm impact, physiotherapists are trained to continuously observe and analyse the findings around them and adjust accordingly. For now, your physiotherapist will assist you by dealing with and reducing various long-term side effects you struggle with. Plus, as time and more experience light the way, therapy will simply get better and better.

• If you want to learn more or schedule a call with the therapist, reach out to us at Adderley Physiotherapy at (242)326-3052, info@adderleyphysio.com or like us on Facebook (Adderley Physiotherapy) to watch our livestream every Thursday.

Swedish teen Thunberg joins fight against vaccine inequity

BY JAMEY KEATEN ASSOCIATED PRESS GENEVA (AP) — Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has urged governments, vaccine developers and the world to “step up their game” to fight vaccine inequity after the richest countries snatched up most COVID-19 vaccine doses and those in poorer nations have gone lacking.

Her comments on Monday came as the World Health Organisation announced 5.2 million new confirmed virus cases over the latest week, the largest weekly count yet, according to the UN health agency.

The Swedish teen who inspired the “Fridays for Future” climate change movement chipped in 100,000 euros ($120,000) from her charitable foundation to the WHO Foundation to help purchase COVID-19 vaccines for

TEEN activist Greta Thunberg

countries where they are needed — especially in poor countries.

“It is completely unethical that high-income countries are now vaccinating young and healthy people if that happens at the expense of people in risk groups and on the front lines in low- and middle-income countries,” said Thunberg, who was invited as a guest for a regular WHO briefing.

While Thunberg hailed the development of COVID-19 vaccines in “record time,” she cited estimates that 1 in 4 people in high-income countries have received them so far, while only 1 in 500 in middle- and lowerincome countries have.

“The international community, governments and vaccine developers must step up their game and address the tragedy that is vaccine inequity,” she said. “Just with the climate crisis, those who are the most vulnerable need to be prioritised and global problems require global solutions.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said new COVID-19 cases rose for an eighth straight week around the globe and deaths have risen for a fifth straight week.

He said infections among people 25 to 59 are “increasing at an alarming rate, possibly as a result of highly contagious variants and increased social mixing among younger adults.”

More than 3 million COVID-19 patients have died in the pandemic and over 141 million have been infected, according to a tally

by Johns Hopkins University, but experts say both numbers understate the true toll of the pandemic.

Thunberg said people need to “step up for one another.”

“We young people may be the ones who are least affected ... by the virus in a direct way,” she said.

“Of course, many young people fail to draw that connection.”

“Not all, but some,” she added.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 20, 2021, PAGE 13

BODY AND MIND

Local autism community celebrates hardworking, generous couple Demetri and Maria Wells

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

Hardworking volunteers with big hearts, Demetri and Maria Wells are being spotlighted by REACH Bahamas this month as part of Autism Awareness.

The couple are the adoptive parents of Reginald Wells, 18, who is on the autism spectrum and suffers from neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder affecting nerve cells.

When they adopted him at age eight, they knew there would be challenges, but that didn’t stop them from taking him into their home and giving him all their love.

In fact, the Wells consider “Reg”, as they call him, to be their “greatest gift”.

“The circumstances in which he was born, the doctors knew that he was going to have some special needs. We just didn’t know, and they didn’t know, what kind of special needs. My husband and I decided at that point…we did a lot of research, and it didn’t matter to us. There was a child that needed a home,” said Mrs Wells.

Reginald has also had considerable academic success.

“He was at the DW Davis School for four years. And through the four years he had made honour roll; from 3.13 to 3.83 GPA. The last year there, he made prefect,” said Mrs Wells.

Her advice to parents with children on the spectrum is to be strong and rely on every bit of support they can get from family members and friends.

“They really need to stay strong and the only way they can do that is to not lose focus. That is going to be the key. That’s the reason we support the REACH (Resource and Educational Source for Autism and other related Challenges) organisation so much, because they are the only organisation pushing it forward,” said Mrs Wells.

“So, I encourage you to get into a support group. REACH was almost like a lifeline thrown out for us and without that I don’t think we could have survived.

Some of the children are not accepted into society, so we find comfort in the support group of REACH.”

MARIA and Demetri Wells with their son Reginald.

At a public speaking event, Reginald expressed his gratitude for the love his adopted parents have shown him.

Among the local autism community, a REACH representative said, the Wells are known for fighting to get their son and other children the best education possible.

Now, as an adult, Reggie has a keen interest in computers and plans to expand his horizons and travel the world to explore new experiences.

“REACH members know Maria and Demetri Wells as hardworking, willing volunteers who are at every function, whether it be encouraging new parents, selling T-shirts, manning pop-up booths, serving refreshments and facilitating the smooth running of events such as Christmas parties and Easter egg hunts. The Wells never have to be asked to help as they are always there first, asking what needs to be done and then staying to the very end to clean up. Most of us have enjoyed the delicious cakes and goodies

frequently donated by Mr Wells, a skilled baker,” said the REACH representative.

However, there are some things that REACH members may not know about this modest but remarkable couple, whose philosophy is that positive changes can be made in a peaceful manner.

They are always 100 percent involved in Reginald’s education.

When he attended the Palmdale Primary School Special Unit, headed by Esmond Garnet, they volunteered their skills, time and materials.

Mr Wells’s tought useful cooking skills such as making pancakes while Mrs Wells taught arts and craft.

When a second computer was needed for the Unit, it was donated by the Wells, who, not deterred by their modest financial situation, just quietly kept on baking cakes and selling them to raise the needed funds.

REACH said they are certain there are many more such stories that could be told about the Wells, but perhaps the one that

best illustrates the generosity and humanity of the family occurred during Reginald’s transfer to junior high school.

“Initially, he and his six graduating peers were assigned to Anatol Rodgers High School in the Southern District. Students who lived in the Palmdale area, some even walking to school, would now have to catch four buses a day, and if parents wanted to accompany their special needs child it would be eight buses a day, not to mention the extra cost and time for working parents. Almost single-handedly, and in her usual indomitable way, Mrs Wells, going through all the right channels and writing many letters, was instrumental in the establishment of a special needs unit at DW Davis Junior High School in the Palmdale area,” said the REACH representative.

And the good deeds do not end, as the Wells have always been eager to help all students with special needs, not just their son.

Just prior to the establishment of the DW Davis Unit, Reginald

Ten questions to ask yourself

was offered a scholarship to a private school, but almost without hesitation, the Wells turned it down. There reasoning being that this would not help his graduating classmates. Similarly, because it was not extended to the other students, they also turned down the offer of free transport to Anatol Rodgers.

“Not surprisingly, the Wells’ worked closely with the head of the new unit, Ms Melvern Hunt, who is with us today, and generously continued helping by getting a desk, ink, paper, microwave, utensils and other items that the new unit needed. Contributions were not always tangible either. As many REACH parents know, despite the establishment of a unit, it is not always easy to get their children included in all school activities. The Wells worked hard to facilitate this and did not let rebuffs such as not being invited along with the parents of the ‘regular’ students to school meetings or to Reg’s prefect installation ceremony, get them down – they just kept on trying, politely and persistently, quite often with more success the next time,” said the REACH representative.

On a more personal note, Mrs Wells describes their 2019 wedding anniversary as one of the “proudest and happiest moments “of her life. When asked by her husband what she would like, she said an outing and a picnic for “their children” at the DW Davis Unit. Almost singlehandedly they organised it, with Mr Wells, as he had done so many times before for Reginald’s doctor and therapy appointments, catching the bus to each student’s house to get the needed signatures. Money was raised, which also covered gifts for the students, and as a result, a happy, memorable time was enjoyed by all.

The Wells work together as a team and, while they admit to a lot of sacrifices, challenges and concerns about the future, they are adamant that raising their wonderful special son has brought out the best in them and has brought them even closer together.

REACH said it is blessed and honoured to count the couple as members.

8

Health coach Ethan Quant, of Elite Wellness Solutions, has succeeded in his weight loss journey and now wants to share his methods with the Bahamas in an effort to foster a culture of wellness and conquer the obesity epidemic

. What type of support (e.g. family and friends) do you have to help you change your lifestyle

I remember when I was starting on my health, wellness and fitness journey, all I knew is that I wanted a six pack. I didn’t have the slightest idea of how I was going to get it.

I remember one day in the doctor’s office I saw an old Men’s Health magazine. I casually was flipping through it and happened across this six-week shred training and meal plan. I tore it out of the magazine, slipped it in my pocket and went home with it.

That was my first programme.

Knowing what I know now I would never recommend anyone follow something so generic. I set myself up for lots of failure and frustration, but I was so stubbornly determined to succeed that I just moved on from failure to failure, literally failing myself to success. Needless to say, I later learned a more efficient and less frustrating way to achieve my goals, and it’s a method that I still use today in my health, wellness and fitness goals.

The key to this exercise is to be completely honest with yourself. There are no right or wrong answers. Once you complete this, you will be well on your way to setting the foundation that is needed for a true lifestyle modification.

Remember, the principles of success are universal, so you look at areas of your life that you are currently excelling at. Think about what you did to be great in those areas and apply them to this new and exciting journey. I guarantee you that if you follow this blueprint, you will be successful in health, wellness and fitness as well.

Remember, if you need help navigating any part of this process, seek out your friendly neighbourhood health and lifestyle coach (me). I want to help! #letsgetit

9

. What is something you are good at now? Did you know you were good at it before you did it or the first time you did it?

10

. When was the last time you exercised regularly (at least three times per week) how long did it last, why did you stop?

It’s really a list of questions that I ask myself to help me organise my thoughts. Once I have them on paper, I can better expand the ideas, but here is where I start. Actually, take the time and complete these questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1

. What are your short-term goals (three to six months) and long-term goals (beyond six months)?

2

. What are some things that can hinder you form your programme (e.g. work schedules, extra-curricular activities, childcare, commute times)?

3 4

. What motivates you (in general, in life)?

. What things are most important to you and how will being healthy and fit complement or support them?

5

. What did you like/dislike about fitness/weight loss programmes you tried in the past?

6 7

. How will you integrate exercise in your life?

. How much time do you have to commit to exercise

ETHAN QUANT

HEALTH COACH

• You can contact Ethan Quant at ethan@elite-wellnesssolutions.com or on Instagram at @ ethanquant.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 20, 2021, PAGE 19

BIDEN FEELS HEAT ON EMISSIONS GOAL AS CLIMATE SUMMIT NEARS WASHINGTON Associated Press

AS PRESIDENT Joe Biden, pictured, convenes a virtual climate summit on Thursday with 40 world leaders, he faces a vexing task: how to put forward a nonbinding but symbolic goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that will have a tangible impact on climate change efforts not only in the US but throughout the world.

The emissions target, eagerly awaited by all sides of the climate debate, will signal how aggressively Biden wants to move on climate change, a divisive and expensive issue that has riled Republicans to complain about job-killing government overreach even as some on the left worry Biden has not gone far enough to address a profound threat to the planet.

The climate crisis poses a complex political challenge for Biden, since the problem is harder to see and far more difficult to produce measurable results on than

either the coronavirus pandemic relief package or the infrastructure bill.

The target Biden chooses “is setting the tone for the level of ambition and the pace of emission reductions over the next decade,” said Kate Larsen, a former White House adviser who helped develop President Barack Obama’s climate action plan.

The number has to be achievable by 2030 but aggressive enough to satisfy scientists and advocates who call the coming decade a crucial, make-or-break moment for slowing climate

change, Larsen and other experts said.

Scientists, environmental groups and even business leaders are calling on Biden to set a target that would cut US greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030.

The 50% target, which most experts consider a likely outcome of intense deliberations underway at the White House, would nearly double the nation’s previous commitment and require dramatic changes in the power and transportation sectors, including significant increases in

renewable energy such as rejoined on his first day in pressing global leaders, wind and solar power and office. It’s also an impor- including his counterpart steep cuts in emissions from tant marker as Biden moves in China, for commitments fossil fuels such as coal and toward his ultimate goal of and alliances on climate oil. net-zero carbon emissions efforts.

Anything short of that by 2050.

Secretary of State goal could undermine “Clearly the science Antony Blinken said the Biden’s promise to prevent demands at least 50%” in US is falling behind China, temperatures from rising reduced greenhouse gas the largest producer and more than 1.5 degrees Cel- emissions by 2030, said Jake exporter of solar panels, sius, experts say, while likely Schmidt, a climate expert wind turbines, batteries and As part of an audit in accordance ISAs,Natural we exerciseResources professional judgment and maintain professional stirring up sharp criticism at with the electric vehicles. scepticism throughout the audit.

We also: from international allies and Defense Council, a leading “If we don’t catch up, Biden’s own supporters environmental group.

America will whether miss the • Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial The target is signifiThe 50% target “is ambi- chanceinformation, to shape the due toasfraud error, designtious, and perform responsive to those risks, and obtain auditworld’s cant, not just a orvisible but audit it isprocedures achievable,’’ climate in a way is sufficient and provide a basis for It’s our opinion.

The riskfuture of not detecting a that goal for theevidence US tothatachieve heappropriate said in toan interview. reflects our interests and material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve after four years of climate also a good climate mesvalues, and we’ll lose out collusion,President forgery, intentionalsage, omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. inaction under he said: “People know on countless jobs for the Donald Trump, but also what 50% means — it’s • Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order toAmerican design audit procedures people,’’thatBlinken for “leveraging other coun- half.’’ are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion the said Monday in on a speech in tries’’, Larsen said. “That Whatever target Biden effectivenessin of thethe Group’spicks, internal control. helps domestically the climate summit Annapolis, Maryland.

Nathaniel Keohane, battle that comes after, itself “provespolicies the used USandisthe reasonableness • Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting of accounting another former Obama which is implementing poli-disclosures backmade in rejoining the interestimates and related by management. cies to achieve that target. national effort” to address White House adviser and nowbasis a vice president • Conclude on the case appropriateness of management’s use ofLarsen, the going concern of accounting and, at the We can make a better climate change, said Defense on the audit evidence obtained, a material exists related to events or politically atbased home if other now a whether director at uncertainty the Environmental Fund, conditions cast significant doubt on the Group’s to continue as a said going experts concern. If have we coacountries are actingthatatmaythe Rhodium Group, anability indelesced around the need for same level conclude of ambition as uncertainty pendent research firm.to draw attention that a material exists, we are required in our auditors’ report to the the US to the US.” The financial summit is or, “the related disclosures in the consolidated information if such disclosures are reduce inadequate,emissions to by at least 50% 2030.

The 2030 modify goal,our known startingare gun climate opinion. as Our conclusions based onfor the audit evidence obtained up to the dateby of our number a Nationally Determined diplomacy” after a may four-year auditors’ report. However, future events or conditions cause the Group“The to cease to continuehas as ato start Contribution, orconcern.

NDC, is a “hiatus” under Trump, she with five,” he said, adding, going key part of the Paris climate said. John Kerry, Biden’s “We’ve done the math. We We communicate with those charged with governance among other matters, the planned scope agreement, which Biden climate envoy, regarding, has been need at least 50%.’’ and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

Other Matters

The Group has prepared a separate set of consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020 in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, on which we issued a separate auditors’ report to the shareholders dated 16 April 2021.

This report, including the opinion, has been prepared for and only for the Group, in accordance with the terms of our engagement letter and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving this opinion, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.

Independent auditors’ report

The engagement partner on the audit resulting in this independent auditors’ report is Carlton A. Cartwright Jr.

To the shareholders of Gonet Bank & Trust Limited

Report on the audit of the financial information

Chartered Accountants Nassau, Bahamas

Our opinion

In our opinion, the consolidated financial information of Gonet Bank & Trust Limited (the Bank) and its subsidiaries (together ‘the Group’) as at 31 December 2020 is prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the basis of preparation as set out in Note 1 to the consolidated financial information.

What we have audited The Group’s consolidated financial information comprises: • the consolidated statement of financial position of the Group as at 31 December 2020.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the consolidated financial information section of our report.

16 April 2021

Gonet Bank & Trust Limited

(Incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas) Consolidated Statement of Financial Position As at 31 December 2020 (Expressed in United States dollars)

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

ASSETS Due from banks (Note 3b) Loans and advances to customers (Note 3b) Derivative financial instruments (Note 5) Property and equipment (Note 6) Prepayments and other assets

2020 $

2019 $

126,028,048 18,584,928 498,014 1,517,195 1,692,191

123,185,036 40,558,814 452,317 2,215,800 1,059,021

Total assets

148,320,376

167,470,988

LIABILITIES Due to banks (Note 3d) Deposits from customers – demand (Note 3d) Derivative financial instruments (Note 5) Lease liabilities (Note 7) Accrued expenses and other liabilities

1,316,805 120,433,917 482,795 1,248,778 6,899,181

2,804,009 134,108,001 421,971 1,845,732 5,937,374

Total liabilities

130,381,476

145,117,087

In preparing the consolidated financial information, management is responsible for assessing the Group ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless management either intends to liquidate the Group or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.

EQUITY Share capital Authorised, issued and fully paid: 1,000,000 shares of $1.00 each Retained earnings

1,000,000 16,938,900

1,000,000 21,353,901

Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the consolidated financial information

Total equity

17,938,900

22,353,901

148,320,376

167,470,988

Independence We are independent of the Group in accordance with International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA Code). We have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with the IESBA Code.

Emphasis of Matter - Basis of preparation

We draw attention to Note 1 to the consolidated financial information, which describes the basis of preparation. The consolidated financial information is prepared to comply with the requirements of the Group’s regulator. As a result, the consolidated financial information may not be suitable for another purpose.

The consolidated financial information does not comprise a full set of consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.

Responsibilities of management for the consolidated financial information

Management is responsible for the preparation of the consolidated financial information in accordance with the basis of preparation as set out in Note 1 to the consolidated financial information and for such internal control as management determines is necessary to enable the preparation of consolidated financial information that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial information as a whole is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors’ report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists.

Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of this consolidated financial information.

Total liabilities and equity

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Bayside Park, West Bay Street & Blake Road, P.O.financial Box N-3910, Nassau, Bahamas • Identify and assess 2the risks Executive of material misstatement of the consolidated information, whether T: + 1 242 302-5300, F: + 1 242 302-5350, www.pwc.com/bs. Email: pwcbs@bs.pwc.com

due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.

• Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Group’s internal control.

• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by management.

• Conclude on the appropriateness of management’s use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditors’ report to the related disclosures in the consolidated financial information or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditors’ report. However, future events or conditions may cause the Group to cease to continue as a going concern.

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

Other Matters

The Group has prepared a separate set of consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020 in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, on which we issued a

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements 31 December 2020 1.

Significant Accounting Policies (Continued) (a) Basis of preparation (continued) The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires management to exercise its judgment in the process of applying the Group’s accounting policies. Estimates and judgments are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The areas involving a higher degree of judgment or complexity, or areas where assumptions and estimates are significant to the consolidated financial statements, are disclosed in Note 2(f), 2(h) and 2(j).

PAGE 20, Tuesday, April 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Tourism chief’s warning: ‘Don’t throw it all away’ FROM PAGE 24 weeks ago when the case numbers were less than ten per day.

“I think this [the CDC action] is a warning. It’s a major warning to us, and we have the opportunity to react quickly and reverse this negative trend.” The CDC, in moving The Bahamas back to “Level 4” and a “very high level of

COVID-19”, urged all US citizens once again to avoid travelling to The Bahamas.

“Because of the current situation in The Bahamas even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants, and should avoid all travel to The Bahamas,” the US health authority warned. “If you must travel to The Bahamas, get fully vaccinated before travel.

All travellers should wear

a mask, stay six feet from others, avoid crowds and wash their hands.”

Such warnings could have a major deterrent effect on a US tourist source market that presently accounts for 90 percent-plus of all visitors to The Bahamas given the current travel restrictions still in place in Canada and much of Europe.

However, it is unclear how many Americans will pay heed to the CDC’s Bahamas

downgrade, and/or whether this will influence any travel and vacation decisionmaking. And the revision is somewhat counterbalanced by the rapid COVID-19 vaccination rates and rollout in the US, where some 50 percent of adults - and more than 80 percent of seniors - have had their first vaccine shots.

The CDC move, which reverses its upgrade of The Bahamas to “Level 3”

status just three months ago, comes in response to a significant recent spike in COVID-19 cases that has led to public health officials fearing the country faces a “third wave” of infections.

A further 55 COVID-19 cases were reported yesterday, including 21 on New Providence, 12 in Grand Bahama and nine in Abaco.

Total cases stood just below 10,000 at 9,791, although only 468 of those were reported to be active. Of the latter figure, some 45 are currently in hospital, with four in intensive care.

The 55 new cases add to the 143 recorded over the preceding three days, leading Mr Sands in an official BHTA statement to warn that the CDC’s downgrade was “not a step in the direction The Bahamas wants to go” as it forges on with its own COVID-19 vaccine roll-out.

“The BHTA, and our private and public sector tourism partners, continue to emphasise how vital it is that we do not let our guard down. The measures we have deployed thus far have worked in our favour; social distancing, mask wearing, hand washing, to name a few,” Mr Sands said.

“Now is not the time to celebrate a victory because we have not crossed the finish line. We can and will get there, but we must continue to deploy practicable common-sense steps, and adhere to proven protocols and comply with rules and regulations put in place to mitigate the spread of the virus.

“These, along with a robust vaccination strategy, are key to our ability to avoid the massive resurgence so many countries are facing right now. We have come too far to veer off course at this critical stage in our journey to a full and sustained recovery.”

Praising The Bahamas’ efforts in controlling COVID-19’s spread todate, Mr Sands added: “I have personally spoken to taxi drivers, tour operators, owners and operators of small, medium and large businesses who are so grateful that business is coming back, so happy to return to work and provide for their families once again.

“We cannot allow apathy or COVID-19 fatigue to jeopardise all that we have accomplished, the sacrifices made by so many. Hope is on the horizon. We need to

continue to be vigilant in our efforts to combat this virus.”

Mr D’Aguilar, telling this newspaper he is “not contemplating” the reintroduction of stricter COVID-19 measures and their impact, said “it’s certainly not surprising” that the CDC would downgrade The Bahamas back to “Level 4” given the recent jump in detected cases.

“Clearly we now have to double down and recommit to observing the health protocols,” he argued.

“We’re getting into the eighth inning. We’re tired and exhausted in observing these health protocols, we’re tired and exhausted with observing social distancing; and are probably getting relaxed.

“As a result you are seeing a number of events involving large crowds, and are relaxing the health protocols outlined in the legislation for this pandemic. This is not behind us. We don’t have sufficient vaccines in place to vaccinate all of us, so we have to observe the protocols and limit community spread.”

Asserting that there was no evidence to suggest that the recent COVID-19 spike had been imported by visitors, Mr D’Aguilar added: “Bad news impacts travel. We certainly don’t want to allow this get any worse because God knows we cannot fathom another period of very restrictive measures. That would be very impactful when we’re rebounding nicely.”

Pointing out that The Bahamas was not different from most countries in being ranked at “Level 4” by the CDC, the minister said it had been “a major success to be in that club” that was ranked at “Level 3” or higher even if it was for a short period of time.

However, he acknowledged that the return to “Level 4” is “definitely going to impact on the speed and pace” of the rebound. Group travel business, which will likely be the last to return, is very mindful of such designations, Mr D’Aguilar said, although individual travellers are likely less likely to be influenced by it.

He also pointed out that there remained a tendency to treat The Bahamas as one island, rather than multiple destinations, with no recognition that many locations are still COVID-free.

Jitney drivers seek ‘fare’ share amid 70% drop-off FROM PAGE 24 Mr Moxey said the drivers were exploring a more organised bus system, something which various governments have promised to introduce for decades but have yet to do so, in response to the slowdown inflicted by COVID-19’s economic devastation and associated health protocols.

“It’s slow. It’s hard,” he told Tribune Business. “We need to get back to full capacity to make up some traction. Passenger volumes are down, and we cannot carry a full load, so that means revenues are down.

We are operating with a 50 percent passenger load but 100 percent of expenses.

“It’s not good at all. You have to pay for your insurance, pay your licence in full, only we’re not getting revenue in full. We have been impacted a huge amount. We have lost

millions and millions of dollars as an industry. It’s down by 70 percent” compared to pre-COVID revenues.

Jitney drivers requested a fare increase from $1.25 to $2 at the height of the pandemic last year, but this was rejected by the government. Mr Moxey confirmed that the industry had put the move “on hold” until the economy and employment recovered as it did not want to be responsible for burdening already-struggling passengers with a further cost increase.

“That’s been put on hold due to the hardship in the economy,” he told this newspaper, “ so we are not aggressively pursuing it recognising how bad it is for everybody. We’d like to get back to 100 percent operations first, and not put an expense on the backs of everybody. When the economy rebounds we’ll pursue that issue under better economic conditions.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 20, 2021, PAGE 21

$10m Capo damages facing substantial cut FROM PAGE 24 Asserting that he has lost faith in the judicial process and system, Mr Edwards argued that it was largely down to himself - not Mr Capo and RAV Bahamas as to whether the lease was extended for another three years.

Pointing out that Therapy Beach’s facilities were demolished before he was given that chance, he told this newspaper: “I demand that there be an immediate hearing with the original arbitrator. They’re going to try and drag this out.

“This all about the renewal years, and she [ex-justice Albury] put into great detail why she included them. The renewal was down to me, not to them. Unless I did something drastically wrong that affected their [Bimini Bay’s] business, then it was my decision whether I wanted to renew those years.

“That was a very easy decision for her to make.

It was a no-brainer. But they destroyed my building before I could take the renewal years. They knocked it down before we even had a chance.”

Mr Edwards declined to comment further on a case that saw his business demolished in defiance of an order from then-chief justice, Sir Michael Barnett, who had ordered that “the status quo” remain until

he had ruled on the dispute with RAV Bahamas.

The Therapy Beach principal has also previously alleged that his restaurant and beach club facilities were bulldozed to pave the way for Mr Capo’s new partner, the Malaysian conglomerate, Genting, and its Resorts World Bimini brand, to operate its own food and beverage facility.

That opened two days after Sakara’s destruction in July 2013.

Tribune Business understands that the site is now likely to be take over by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Cruises, which will likely implement similar plans by transforming it into a mix of beach clubs and restaurants that cruise passengers can enjoy when they finally visit Bimini once the COVID-19 pandemic abates.

The Privy Council judgment, detailing the background to the dispute, noted that the New Year’s Eve 2011 lease agreement between Mr Capo’s companies and Therapy Beach would see the latter pay a percentage of its gross revenues to RAV Bahamas plus a “common area charge”.

The three-year lease deal contained an option to renew for a period of the same length once six months’ notice was given and the parties could agree rental rates. Therapy Beach was also to pay RAV Bahamas $150,000 for

constructing the beach club, which was to be completed within 120 days once payment was made.

“Therapy alleged that, in breach of contract, the building work was not properly completed; that Therapy had to attempt to complete it at its own expense and that, even

by July 2013, it was not fully complete,” the Privy Council “On March 18, 2013, proceedings were commenced

by RAV against Therapy in the Supreme Court of the Bahamas, alleging that the lease was void, illegal and of no effect on the grounds that its terms violated the International Persons Landholding Act of the Bahamas. On May 31, 2013, that action came before [then] chief justice Barnett, who reserved judgment at the end of that hearing.

“On July 18, 2013, before that judgment was handed down and while the lease was still in the currency of its original three-year term, the Sakara Beach Club was demolished by RAV and Therapy was evicted from the land. Subsequently, in his judgment dated September 12, 2013, then-chief justice Barnett rejected RAV’s claim that the lease

was void, illegal and of no effect.”

Mr Edwards and Therapy Beach had initially claimed $12m in damages for loss of profits. However, ex-justice Albury discounted this by one-third at the arbitration hearing to account for the fact another business, Atlantic Seafood, was not included in the lease.

And she knocked a further 15 percent off on the basis that the figures offered by Therapy Beach’s key witness were not supported by documents.

The combined 45 percent reduction is how ex-justice Albury arrived at the $6.8m for general damages/loss of profits.

Justice Winder, disagreeing with this and the failure to address whether Therapy Beach could claim for loss of profits for a threeyear renewal period yet to be agreed, ordered that the matter be sent back to the arbitrator. The Court of Appeal, though, overturned this and upheld the initial arbitration verdict, leading to Mr Capo and RAV Bahamas appealing to the Privy Council.

Agreeing that the lease renewal issue was “central” to determining how much Therapy Beach ought to be

awarded, the Privy Council backed Justice Winder in finding: “This is one of those cases in which the nature of the irregularity and failure of due process means that it is ‘inherently likely’ that there has been substantial injustice.

“Failing to deal with an issue which was put to the [arbitration] tribunal,

which would potentially more than halve a $6.8m damages award is, on the face of it, obviously unfair and unjust.” The Privy Council also agreed that the initial 30 percent discount imposed by the arbitrator should be overturned, but upheld the other 15 percent reduction.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

MONDAY, 19 APRIL 2021

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX:

CLOSE

CHANGE

1947.80

-10.84

%CHANGE

YTD

YTD%

-0.55 -144.66

-6.91

(242) 323-2330 (242) 323-2320

BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 5.15 33.05 1.46 2.90 1.89 6.00 6.96 3.60 6.01 4.05 6.16 12.00 2.75 7.00 10.71 9.00 14.60 4.25 8.97 16.00

52WK LOW 3.13 22.65 1.46 1.62 1.50 5.00 6.00 2.70 4.25 2.75 5.00 9.75 2.10 4.90 9.50 8.00 13.00 3.42 8.15 15.20

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Benchmark Bahamas First Holdings Limited Bank of Bahamas Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Cable Bahamas Commonwealth Brewery Commonwealth Bank Colina Holdings CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Bahamas Limited Focol Finco J. S. Johnson

SYMBOL AML APD BBL BFH BOB BPF BWL CAB CBB CBL CHL CIB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FCL FIN JSJ

LAST CLOSE 5.00 32.12 1.62 2.90 1.59 5.50 6.96 3.25 4.40 2.97 5.67 9.75 2.55 7.00 11.11 9.00 14.00 3.99 8.35 15.50

CLOSE 5.00 32.12 1.46 2.90 1.59 5.50 6.96 3.25 4.30 2.90 5.67 9.75 2.58 7.00 11.08 9.00 14.00 3.99 8.35 15.50

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGRS780222 BSBGRS760240 BSBGRS870288

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.65 100.00 100.86

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.65 100.00 100.86

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Bahamas First Holdings Preference Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Bahamas Class A Focol Class B

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 100.00 100.50 100.66

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 99.97 100.66

SECURITY Fidelity Bank (Note 22 Series B+) Bahamas First Holdings Limited

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

Managing Editor A daily newspaper is seeking a first-class Managing Editor.

The successful applicants will have; • At least ten years of senior management experience in newspapers, preferably with a regional daily or national paper, • Hands-on experience across all multi-media platforms and strong social media background, • First-class professional credentials including the ability to write well, over see and design attractive broadsheet and tabloid pages, • Full working knowledge of Apple Mac, InDesign and Photoshop software Apply in writing, with full CV, examples of work, and salary expectations, to D131105, P.O. Box N-3207, Nassau, Bahamas

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y BGRS FL BSBGRS780222 BGRS FL BSBGRS760240 BGRS FL BSBGR870288

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 (0.16) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 (0.10) (0.07) 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.00 (0.03) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

VOLUME 2,000

1,658 20,000

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

EPS$ 0.239 0.932 0.000 0.110 0.070 1.760 0.369 -0.438 0.140 0.184 0.449 0.722 0.102 0.467 0.646 0.728 0.816 0.203 0.939 0.631 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

VOLUME

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.020 0.030 0.000 0.000 0.260 0.000 0.000 0.120 0.220 0.720 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.120 0.200 0.610 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

P/E 20.9 34.5 N/M N/M N/M N/M 18.9 -7.4 30.7 15.8 12.6 13.5 25.3 15.0 17.2 12.4 17.2 19.7 8.9 24.6

YIELD 3.40% 3.92% 1.37% 1.03% 0.00% 0.00% 3.74% 0.00% 0.00% 4.14% 3.88% 7.38% 16.82% 0.86% 2.96% 2.67% 3.86% 3.01% 2.40% 3.94%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

MATURITY

6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 4.44% 4.50% 4.33%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 22-Sep-2022 18-Jan-2024 26-Apr-2028

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.40 4.44 2.15 201.90 184.85 1.69 1.83 1.78 1.24 8.49 10.26 7.28 13.91 12.84 10.81 10.00 10.20 13.79

52WK LOW 2.11 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.67 1.73 1.75 1.03 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Financial Conservative Fund Leno Financial Aggressive Fund Leno Financial Balanced Fund Leno Financial Global Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

NAV 2.40 4.44 2.15 201.90 184.85 1.68 1.73 1.75 1.03 8.49 10.03 7.28 13.91 12.84 10.05 N/A 10.20 13.79

YTD% 12 MTH% 0.38% 4.56% 0.04% 1.37% 0.20% 2.56% 3.47% 3.47% 10.86% 10.86% 0.36% 0.77% -3.49% -4.68% -0.85% -0.65% -1.79% -16.80% 1.76% 1.76% -1.97% -1.97% 4.91% 4.91% 5.28% 15.75% 0.05% 3.96% -0.35% -6.34% N/A N/A 8.60% 8.60% 11.90% 11.90%

NAV Date

31-Jan-2021 31-Jan-2021 29-Jan-2021 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 28-Feb-2021 28-Feb-2021 28-Feb-2021 28-Feb-2021 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020

MARKET TERMS

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price

52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks

Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity

52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks

Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity

Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume

Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price

Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume

Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week

Change - Change in closing price from day to day

EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths

Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today

NAV - Net Asset Value

DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months

N/M - Not Meaningful

P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | CAROLISLE 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

PAGE 22, Tuesday, April 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

GOVT PROCUREMENT REFORM DELAYED BEYOND OTHER ACTS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Public Procurement Act’s implementation will take place two months later than other key financial reforms to give all government ministries and agencies time to adapt, it was revealed yesterday.

The Act, which will govern all public sector bidding processes and contract awards, will take legal effect on September 1, 2021, whereas the Public Finance Management Act, Public Debt Management Act and the Statistics Act will all

come into force from July 1.

Marlon Johnson, the acting financial secretary, explained in a statement that the Ministry of Finance asked that the Public Procurement Act’s “appointed day” be pushed back a few months given the significant operational changes it requires within the government.

He explained: “The Procurement Act requires changes at all central government ministries and departments, as well as state-owned enterprises and authorities. It will require significant staff training, vendor education

and awareness, and the establishment of new functions such as a tribunal to handle disputes,” he said.

Speaking to the importance of the legal reforms, Senator Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for finance, added: “These substantial new pieces of legislation are truly transformative and will revamp the way the public sector works regarding financial and data management.

“Each Act raises the standards of existing government processes to meet global best practices with a focus on transparency and accountability. The laws

mandate that all information regarding budgets, public sector data, debt management plans, procurement opportunities and awarded government contracts be published within a specific timeframe.

“Importantly, it permits the government to carve out certain procurement activities for small Bahamian businesses, which will help entrepreneurs to have better access to potentially substantial government contracts.”

Mr Johnson, meanwhile, said: “The new Public Finance Management and Public Debt

MARLON JOHNSON

KWASI THOMPSON

Management Acts require enhanced accounting in certain instances and, in every instance, enhanced reporting. There are new accountability features for permanent secretaries, heads of departments, and heads of state-owned enterprises and authorities.

“Under the Public Finance Management Act, implementation dates will be staggered from 2021 through 2025 to allow for process changes and

capacity building.”

The government said it will embark upon an aggressive education campaign to engage both internal and external stakeholders on the impact and intent of the new Acts, and to heighten awareness around new roles, procedures and responsibilities outlined in each. The new committees, boards and institutions created will also be formalised over this period.

MINISTER REAFFIRMS GOVTS 200 ONLINE SERVICES GOAL

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister has reaffirmed the government’s goal of providing 200 public services online within five years as part of its digital transformation drive.

Senator Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for finance, told the Cable Bahamas-hosted Think Beyond webinar, which examined the impact of

Union chief brands mandatory shot as ‘going back to 1942’ FROM PAGE 24

the vaccine. I just want to go on the record by stating categorically that is an illegal act.....

digital transformation on the public and private sectors, that progress is being made towards that goal as highlighted by the pilot roll-out of several services via the central online portal, MyPilotServices.gov.bs.

Modelled after the Estonian online platform, the MyServices online gateway allows services to be requested from a single portal via an interoperability platform referred to as The Great Bahama Bank, which enables digital

inter-agency connection.

“We wanted to have one single platform that allows citizens to access our services in one location. This platform enables users to register, complete the verification process, and access all services online,” the minister said.

More than 4,000 Bahamians are registered on MyPilotServices.gov.bs to-date, enabling them to request police character references; renew e-passports; renew a driver’s licence

or a firearm licence; and requesting certified copies of birth, marriage and death certificates.

Through increasing accessibility, and improving the ease of obtaining government services, use of the portal has also helped reduce lines at government agencies.

“Digitisation can present opportunities for economic improvement and sustainable growth. Putting government services online is just the beginning

of the government’s digital transformation journey,” said Mr Thompson. “We know that that is an ambitious goal but we believe it is one that it is achievable.”

The government’s $30m digitisation initiative, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), aims to make it easier for residents and businesses to do business in The Bahamas. The multi-year investment is allowing the government to digitise its services,

“No one... The constitution of The Bahamas does not permit for anyone to give that instruction, and have that kind of influence, with the physical situation of the individual. That’s a no-no. Disregard that because it doesn’t make sense.

“That will take us back to 1942, when the employer

could tell you what to do, when to do it and how to do it no matter what the situation is. We are not going to go back to that, nor are we going back to 1958. We cannot go back to 1942 or pre-1942. We just cannot go back to 1958.”

Mr Scott last week said he had “smoothed out” any concerns at a staff meeting with Sushi Rokkan’s 30-40 workers, making it clear that “we’re not going to force” persons to take the COVID-19 vaccine if their doctor advises against it while warning that they should “find another job” if other excuses are invoked.

“The whole point is to save lives,” he added. “We had to set some kind of deadline. They understand it, and it’s clear what the regime is. People spend too much time downloading garbage from social media.

That’s one reason why the vaccine roll-out has not been as efficient and effective as it could have been.

The other one is that the government does not have enough vaccines.”

The 1942 Burma Road riots, which Mr Ferguson is referring to, stemmed from workers’ demands that there be equal pay

regardless of colour or nationality. The TUC chief, outlining a litany of union grievances and complaints yesterday, also argued that signed and registered industrial agreements “appear not to have any value” as employers either ignored or altered their terms at will.

“Prior to the unions, the middle class didn’t exist,” he argued. “Today, they’re trying to water that down and find all kinds of reasons not to support it.” Arguing that US president, Joe Biden, had encouraged Amazon workers to unionise, Mr Ferguson said: “In The Bahamas it’s a sin to be an officer or member of the union.

“If we go to the Labour Department we cannot even get a hearing.... Why would you send a matter to the Industrial Tribunal? It has no authority. It’s deliberately designed to frustrate the labour movement.”

Mr Ferguson also urged workers and trade union members to exploit their voting power at the ballot box as the general election looms, pointing out that those they elect will be serving for a likely five-year term.

Lockdowns ‘not an option’ to halt COVID-19 surge

JOB OPPORTUNITY Cigar and Hookah Lo unge Down town - Pompey Square

We are looking for Female Servers & Male/Fema le Bartenders to join our team.

Must be reliable, well groomed with a pleasant attitude.

Serious Inquiry Only Contact Miss Bowe 1-242-806-3287 - Mon-Fr i/ 9-5

M&E Limited

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Power Generation Controls Specialist Machinery & Energy Limited is the only authorized Caterpillar Dealership in the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos and Cayman Islands. Its principal business activities include the sale, rental, and service of light, medium and heavy construction and earth moving equipment; diesel engines for industrial and marine applications, as well as electrical power generation.

ROLE OVERVIEW:

The Power Generation Controls Specialist, without supervision, will perform duties as assigned by Management in the repair, maintenance and/or rebuilding of electrical equipment in the service shop or field, in a safe, efficient, and capable manner.

This position is available and located in Grand Bahama only.

PRIMARY DUTIES:

• •

• • •

Service and troubleshoot Caterpillar Diesel Engines and Generator Sets Analyze all Caterpillar and related Power Generation equipment systems and components for proper operation Test, calibrate, and repair field transducers for engine and generator support systems Perform and record generator insulation tests Perform load testing of generators

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

•

• • • • •

Knowledge of Caterpillar parts or similar product line, having worked in a Caterpillar dealership or a similar organization Able to diagnose system and component failures Able to uphold all safety & housekeeping standards Able to demonstrate proficiency in reading technical data and schematic drawings Advanced diagnostic skills and troubleshooting of systems Working electrical knowledge and testing capabilities

QUALIFICATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

• •

Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering Five (5) years of experience in the repair and maintenance of Caterpillar power generation equipment

Qualified individuals should submit your resume to: � �

D

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that COREEN ANN DOUGLAS, of #72 Frank Edgecombe Street, P.O. Box EE 16671 New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statementth of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 13 day of April 2021 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

LEGAL NOTICE

Hibiscus OFB VBW Ltd. (In Voluntary Liquidation)

Hibiscus OFB VBW Ltd. has been fully dissolved and wound up by the appointed liquidator, GLC Corporate Services Ltd. Thirty (30) days from the commencement of the dissolution as outlined in the Plan of dissolution has expired as of the 9th day of April, 2021.

Hibiscus OFB VBW Ltd. requests the Registrar General to strike the Company from the IBC Register of Companies.

RE: Power Generation Controls Specialist

Only individuals meeting the above requirements will be contacted.

influence any travel and vacation decision-making.

And the revision is somewhat counterbalanced by the rapid COVID-19 vaccination rates and roll-out in the US, where some 50 percent of adults - and more than 80 percent of seniors - have had their first vaccine shots.

The CDC move, which reverses its upgrade of The Bahamas to “Level 3” status just three months ago, comes in response to a significant recent spike in COVID-19 cases that has led to public health officials fearing the country faces a “third wave” of infections.

A further 55 COVID-19 cases were reported yesterday, including 21 on New Providence, 12 in Grand Bahama and nine in Abaco.

Total cases stood just below 10,000 at 9,791, although only 468 of those were reported to be active. Of the latter figure, some 45 are currently in hospital, with four in intensive care. The 55 new cases add to the 143 recorded over the preceding three days.

However, Benjamin

Simmons, proprietor of The Other Side and Ocean View properties on Harbour Island, voiced doubts to Tribune Business over whether the CDC downgrade will have any influence on travel demand for The Bahamas.

“I don’t anticipate it’s going to have a significant impact because we were at ‘Level 4’ for quite some time and very few people commented when we went to ‘Level 3’,” he said. “I’m not sure that it will impact us that heavily. There’s a huge degree of confidence that the system put in place by the Ministry of Tourism is working, and a lot of people have been vaccinated, so it’s less of a worry.

“We don’t get a lot of comments on the CDC level. It went up to ‘Level 4’ after Dorian and in spite of that people still travelled.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, DAKATA GIBSON, of Bluehill Heights, P.O. Box GT-2568, New Providence, The Bahamas, intend to change my name to DAKOTA GIBSON. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE International Business Companies Act, 2000 CG Operations Limited (In Voluntary Liquidation) CG Operations Limited is in dissolution pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000.

The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 14th day of April, 2021, when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

The Liquidator of the said company is GLC Corporate Services Ltd., of Units 10-12, Second Floor, Building Four, Old Fort Bay Town Center, Windsor Field Road, Old Fort Bay, New Providence, The Bahamas.

Dated this 20th of April, 2021.

hr.admin@me-ltd.com

April 30th, 2021

FROM PAGE 24

strengthen cyber security, and improve and increase the use of technology in the public service.

Besides Mr Thompson, participants in the webinar included participants included Franklyn Butler, Cable Bahamas’ chief executive and executive vice-chairman;.

Damian Blackburn, Aliv’s top executive; and Charnette Thompson, Cable Bahamas’ vice-president of innovation.

GLC Corporate Services Ltd. Voluntary Liquidator

GLC Corporate Services Ltd. Voluntary Liquidator

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 20, 2021, PAGE 23

BTC TARGETS IMPROVED SMALL BUSINESS VALUE THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has launched a contact centre to improve the support and value it offers to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

The call centre, targeted solely at a segment that traditionally accounts for more than 85 percent of BTC’s business customers, is part of a strategic focus on this sector which also includes offering free websites as part of bundled communications produce offerings that were rolled out in late 2020.

BTC said in a statement that the new SME contact centre operates 24

hours per day, seven days a week, and is serviced by Bahamian staff. It provides landline, broadband Internet, mobile and television support. Customers can also access information about their account and inquire about billing using this platform.

André Foster, its chief executive, said: “We know that many small businesses suffered significant challenges as a result of the pandemic, and for some it was an opportunity to reposition, renew and - in some cases - launch new businesses. In all cases we are confident that going digital and virtual are a part

of the transformation that COVID-19 has thrust upon all businesses, regardless of size.

“This year, we’ve placed a huge emphasis on creating a frictionless experience for our SME customers, and we believe our focus on support and creating innovative, value-rich, propositions have propelled us and our customers in the right direction.

“We continue to innovate to meet the needs of this vastly growing sector, and have improved and simplified the way in which our customers interact with us.

In addition to that, we’ve added even more value

to our customer value propositions, allowing our customers to optimise and customise their businesses for the customer of tomorrow.”

Customers now signing up for any of BTC’s Essential, Advanced and Elite small business plans have the opportunity to receive a free customised website.

New and existing customers that upgrade to these packages can take advantage of the carrier’s website initiative, which comes with full e-commerce functionality.

“We believe that adding a free website to our bundles will be hugely beneficial for

our small business customers. This will enable them to promote their business, and move towards the era of a digital experience for their customers. Late last year, we introduced a suite of new plans providing access of up to 600mbps of broadband service,” Mr Foster said.

“This is coupled with a corporate mobile plan, which includes a wide variety of handset options to meet the demands of any business segment or size.

There are no other plans like this on the market and we are proud to deliver this kind of value-rich proposition to our small

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 75° F/24° C Low: 67° F/19° C

TAMPA

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Humid with clouds and sun

Humid with increasing clouds

Partly sunny and humid

Some sun with a shower in spots

A shower; breezy in the morning

Breezy with clouds and sunshine

High: 86°

Low: 73°

High: 86° Low: 71°

High: 84° Low: 71°

High: 82° Low: 70°

High: 85° Low: 72°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

96° F

79° F

98°-79° F

93°-74° F

88°-69° F

91°-75° F

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

N

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 76° F/24° C

8-16 knots

S

WEST PALM BEACH High: 86° F/30° C Low: 74° F/23° C

6-12 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE E

W

FREEPORT

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 75° F/24° C

N

S

E

W

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 73° F/23° C

MIAMI

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 76° F/24° C

7-14 knots

KEY WEST

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 78° F/26° C

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 73° F/23° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021

N

uV inDex toDay

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

tiDes For nassau Low

Ht.(ft.)

2:15 a.m.

2:43 p.m.

High

2.5 1.9

8:53 a.m.

8:47 p.m.

0.6 0.6

Wednesday 3:15 a.m.

3:46 p.m.

2.5 2.1

9:50 a.m.

9:53 p.m.

0.5 0.4

Thursday

4:14 a.m.

4:46 p.m.

2.6 2.3

10:44 a.m. 0.3 10:56 p.m. 0.2

Friday

5:10 a.m.

5:41 p.m.

2.7 2.7

11:35 a.m. 0.0 11:55 p.m. 0.0

Saturday

6:03 a.m.

6:33 p.m.

2.8 3.0

12:23 p.m. -0.3 ---------

Sunday

6:54 a.m.

7:23 p.m.

2.9 3.2

12:51 a.m. -0.3 1:10 p.m. -0.6

Monday

7:44 a.m.

8:13 p.m.

3.0 3.5

1:45 a.m. -0.6 1:56 p.m. -0.8

Today

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 75° F/24° C

N

S

E

W S

4-8 knots

6:43 a.m.

7:35 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

1:06 p.m.

2:16 a.m.

First

Full

Last

New

Apr. 20

Apr. 26

May 3

May 11

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 76° F/24° C

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 76° F/24° C

N

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 75° F/24° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 76° F/24° C

4-8 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 84° F/29° C Low: 76° F/24° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

H

Ht.(ft.)

CAT ISLAND

E

W

6-12 knots

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 84° F/29° C Low .................................................... 71° F/22° C Normal high ....................................... 81° F/27° C Normal low ........................................ 69° F/21° C Last year’s high ................................. 91° F/33° C Last year’s low ................................... 76° F/24° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.04” Year to date ................................................. 3.20” Normal year to date ..................................... 5.59”

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 75° F/24° C

business customers.”

BTC said it has also launched a new website, www.btcbahamas.com/ business, that is specifically designed to meet the needs of its business customers.

It added that they can go to the website to create the broadband, mobile and landline package that works for them.

| Go to AccuWeather.com

TONIGHT

High: 75° F/24° C Low: 70° F/21° C

ANDRE FOSTER

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS RAGGED ISLAND High: 82° F/28° C Low: 77° F/25° C

L

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 77° F/25° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 85° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

N

E

W

E

W

N

S

S

4-8 knots

4-8 knots

marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR

Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday:

WINDS SE at 6-12 Knots SW at 8-16 Knots S at 6-12 Knots WSW at 6-12 Knots SE at 4-8 Knots S at 6-12 Knots ESE at 4-8 Knots SE at 7-14 Knots SSE at 4-8 Knots S at 7-14 Knots S at 7-14 Knots WSW at 7-14 Knots SE at 4-8 Knots S at 4-8 Knots E at 4-8 Knots E at 6-12 Knots SE at 4-8 Knots SE at 6-12 Knots SE at 7-14 Knots SE at 7-14 Knots SSE at 6-12 Knots S at 6-12 Knots SE at 4-8 Knots SE at 4-8 Knots SE at 4-8 Knots S at 6-12 Knots

WAVES 2-4 Feet 2-4 Feet 0-1 Feet 0-1 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 0-1 Feet 0-1 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 3-5 Feet 3-5 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-2 Feet 0-1 Feet 1-2 Feet

VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 79° F 79° F 82° F 83° F 80° F 83° F 81° F 81° F 82° F 82° F 78° F 78° F 81° F 83° F 81° F 81° F 80° F 83° F 79° F 79° F 79° F 79° F 80° F 81° F 79° F 82° F

business@tribunemedia.net

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2021

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OBIE FERGUSON

Union chief brands mandatory shot as ‘going back to 1942’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A TRADE union leader yesterday compared forcing Bahamian workers to take the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of their continued employment to “taking us back to 1942” and the Burma Road riots.

Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, also likened the move to the industrial conditions that produced the 1958 general strike as he outlined plans to create a so-called “workers’ agenda” with input from all trade unions and the wider labour movement over the next seven days.

Some will likely regard Mr Ferguson’s comparisons with events of 1942 and 1958 as an exaggeration and inappropriate, especially since John Pinder, the director of labour, outlined the government’s position that employers cannot mandate employees receive the vaccine since there is no basis for this in law.

However, Mr Ferguson could not resist hitting out at Michael Scott QC, with whom he has clashed several times over the past three years while representing Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association (BHMA) members working at the Grand Lucayan.

Mr Scott both chairs that hotel’s Board and the Hotel Corporation, but Mr Ferguson did not distinguish between his government role and Sushi Rokkan, the Old Fort Bay Town Centrebased restaurant owned by the attorney and his wife.

It was that business, and not the Grand Lucayan, that last week issued a note to staff warning their jobs and positions could be in jeopardy unless there is a valid medical reason why they should not take the COVID-19 vaccine.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Ferguson said: “The question of the vaccine: I heard the chairman of the Hotel Corporation, a government entity, made an announcement that he is going to make it a requirement for persons who want to continue to work....... it’s mandatory for them to take

SEE PAGE 22

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Tourism chief’s warning: ‘Don’t throw it all away’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

OURISM industry chiefs yesterday warned The Bahamas “must reverse the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the shortest possible time” after the country was downgraded by US health authorities.

Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business that the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had sent “a major warning” to this nation and its prospects for a swift economic rebound by returning it to the highest risk “Level 4” ranking for COVID-19 spread.

Describing the federal health regulator’s actions as “a wake-up call”, Mr Sands said The Bahamas needed to react quickly to get COVID19 cases back under control otherwise the progress made by re-opening both the tourism industry and wider Bahamian economy in recent months could be placed in serious jeopardy.

Urging Bahamians not to throw away these gains, the

• As US downgrades Bahamas to ‘very high’ COVID risk • Private sector: ‘Reverse spike in shortest possible time’ • Minister: Country can’t afford for cases to ‘get any worse’

ROBERT SANDS

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR

BHTA president reiterated that despite the ongoing vaccine roll-out “we have not crossed the finish line yet” and the country cannot afford to “veer off course” in its economic recovery efforts and squander “the sacrifices” made by thousands of locals and residents over the past year.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, last night echoed Mr Sands by warning that The Bahamas cannot afford for the latest spike in COVID-19 cases to “get any worse” and provoke the reintroduction of lockdowns and other

restrictive public health measures that will retard the economy’s rebound and endanger thousands of jobs.

He suggested to Tribune Business that the increased infection rates are resulting from “COVID fatigue” among Bahamians and residents, with persons starting to lose their discipline some 13 months after the pandemic’s start, and warned that it “is not behind us” especially since the country still does not have enough vaccines to inoculate all its citizens and residents.

Acknowledging that the CDC’s downgrade, and

revised advisory warning US citizens against travelling to The Bahamas, “certainly can” have a deterrent effect that dampens visitor numbers, Mr Sands told Tribune Business: “It is concerning, and this is why we are reiterating the point about The Bahamas and Bahamian population not relaxing the health protocols.

“We have to correct and reverse this current trend in the shortest possible time so it does not have this negative impact on us. We have an opportunity to do this in a short period of time. This is a wake-up call for us to all become more refocused on the protocols; the ball is in each and every one of our courts to play a part in correcting this.

“I think we’ve made significant progress,” Mr Sands continued, “but I think we now have to get refreshed and refocused, and become disciplined again to get us back where we were a few

SEE PAGE 20

$10m Capo damages facing substantial cut

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A $9.67M damages award made against the Bimini Bay resort’s original developer for demolishing a tenant’s business faces a substantial cut following yesterday’s Privy Council ruling.

The London-based court, the highest in the Bahamian judicial system, overturned a previous Court of Appeal verdict by ordering that Therapy Beach Incorporated’s claim for the loss of its bar and restaurant facilities at the Bimini resort be sent back to the original arbitrator so she can “reconsider” issues impacting 96 percent of the sum awarded.

The unanimous verdict thus paves the way for a major reduction in the damages that must be paid by Gerardo Capo’s RAV Bahamas and Bimini Bay Resort Management

• Privy Council rules for first Bimini Bay developer • ‘Serious irregularity’ on ‘demolished tenant’ award • Beach club proprietor ‘demands speedy hearing’ entities to Therapy Beach and its principal, Miamibased entertainment owner/promoter, Garrick Edwards, following an eight-year legal battle triggered by the latter’s loss of his business and anticipated profits.

The Privy Council, in rejecting the Court of Appeal’s decision, effectively upheld a previous Supreme Court ruling by Justice Ian Winder. He found there was “a serious irregularity” in the initial arbitration hearing because it did not address the issue of whether Therapy Beach and Mr Edwards could recover lost profits relating to a three-year extension of their lease when the renewal had yet to be agreed.

Noting that an adverse finding on this issue would “potentially more than halve” the $6.8m awarded to Therapy Beach for loss of profits, the Privy Council said the arbitrator’s failure to consider this was “obviously unfair and unjust” to Mr Capo and his entities.

With the Bahamas Arbitration Act 2009’s section 90 providing the legal basis for the original Bimini Bay developer to challenge the award, the Londonbased court reinstated Justice Winder’s verdict and ordered that the case be sent back to the original arbitrator to reevaluate the $6.8m loss of profits damage and whether they should account for the three-year renewal.

This also means that, as

ordered by Justice Winder, the $2.7m exemplary damages awarded to Therapy Beach and Mr Edwards must be reconsidered, too, because they were based on the $6.8m general damages/ loss of profits determination. As a result, some $9.3m or 96 percent of the damages awarded against Mr Capo and his entities must now be reassessed.

Mr Edwards, when contacted by Tribune Business yesterday, demanded that a “speedy hearing” take place before the original arbitrator, retired Supreme Court justice Cheryl Albury, as he voiced fears that Mr Capo and his attorneys will seek to now “drag out” the proceedings even more.

SEE PAGE 21

$4.93 Lockdowns ‘not an option’ to halt COVID-19 surge

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Marina Association of The Bahamas (MAB) president yesterday said reimposing lockdowns to control the latest spike in COVID-19 cases is “not an option” for the tourism industry and wider economy.

Peter Maury, speaking to Tribune Business after US health authorities downgraded The Bahamas to a “Level 4” “very high” COVID risk, said the nation simply “cannot close down again” due to the immense harm this would inflict on businesses and livelihoods.

“Obviously it’s concerning for everybody,” he said of the recent uptick in infections. “We don’t need that. They’re [the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention] advising not to travel to The Bahamas.

So far it hasn’t filtered out.

Hopefully it doesn’t do too much damage to us.

“It’s definitely not a good review. I think it could potentially definitely damage us, but hopefully we can get this thing under control. I don’t know how we’re going to fix it. We cannot close down again.

That’s not an option. The virus hasn’t gone away and this is just a reminder. It’s more enforcement of the rules and cracking down on these unauthorised parties.”

The CDC, in moving The Bahamas back to “Level 4” and a “very high level of COVID-19”, urged all US citizens once again to avoid travelling to The Bahamas.

“Because of the current situation in The Bahamas even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants, and should avoid all travel to The Bahamas,” the US health authority warned.

“If you must travel to The Bahamas, get fully vaccinated before travel. All travellers should wear a mask, stay six feet from others, avoid crowds and wash their hands.”

Such warnings could have a major deterrent effect on a US tourist source market that presently accounts for 90 percent-plus of all visitors to The Bahamas given the current travel restrictions still in place in Canada and much of Europe.

However, it is unclear how many Americans will pay heed to the CDC’s Bahamas downgrade, and/or whether this will

SEE PAGE 22

Jitney drivers seek ‘fare’ share amid 70% drop-off

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

JITNEY drivers on the number 15 route yesterday trialled a new system to see if it produces a better share of passenger fares said to still be down 70 percent compared to pre-COVID levels.

Harrison Moxey, the United Public Transportation Company’s (UPTC) president, told Tribune Business the rest of the industry is watching with interest the results of this week’s experiment that saw drivers line their vehicles up on the field outside Super Value’s Winton store from early morning.

He explained that the idea was for jitneys to depart every ten minutes on the route, which takes passengers the length of Prince Charles Drive to the Mall at Marathon and back, in a bid to ensure all drivers

• Number 15 route trials ‘10-minute’ system • Aims to spread wealth and avoid ‘cramming’ • Industry places fare increase push ‘on hold’

BUS Drivers lined off near Supervalue Winton. picked up at least some fares while avoiding the common practice of racing each other between stops.

“They are just trying a schedule for spacing because things are slow on the road,” Mr Moxey told this newspaper. “They’re trying to run every ten minutes rather

than cram up. They’re trying to see how it works. We’ll know how it goes in a couple of days. It’s just that route for now, the number 15 drivers coming together.”

He added that the wider jitney industry is adopting a “wait and see” attitude to the new approach before any

Photo: Donavan McIntosh. effort is made to expand it to other routes, saying: “They’re not mandated to do it. We’ll take it a step at a time. It’s something they wanted to do, but we won’t know how effective it is for a couple of days. We’ll see how it is.”

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